August Hatch along?

[Jules929]

No noise yet here at Day 18.5. But I haven't been hovering, lol. I just hope that I don't end up with a solo chick! If that happens I will have to pick up a chick at TSC, if they still have any. Or wait until I receive the Day old chicks that are due to ship Monday.

 

[Perris]

The first of mine has hatched pic to follow when mum lets it out again!

 

[Perris]

there's 2 ... sooooo cute

 

[mzhof]

I have read here on BYC to wait until day 10 to give up on an egg, unless it is smelly or has a blood ring, etc.
I have read the articles and looked at candling pictures, but I am still unsure about my ability to correctly assess my eggs. Plus, several of my eggs are darker in color, which makes it more difficult to see details.

So my so-called hard boiled eggs hatched yesterday! Along with the bantam egg (really good veining and saw chick moving all along, named Kenzie before he/she even born). The bantam egg actually pipped Tues evening but made no progress by Thursday. I read a bunch of stuff here about whether to help or not, watched several you-tube videos and decided I was going in! I didn't take any pictures but I'm pretty sure she was slightly shrink-wrapped and too large to turn in the shell. Piece by piece the shell came off and I was super careful to keep her membrane wet (coconut oil and water) until I could see if her yolk had absorbed. No blood whatsoever, as soon as her head popped out of the membrane she wriggled out of the shell. Very small amount of yellowish scrambled looking egg on her behind but did not look like a whole yolk at all. Left her in the incubator and the other 2 had pipped by Thursday evening. One popped out 2 hours later (name is Zippy) and the other one overnight (Funky, has a beard!). These 2 were my "fun and funky" egg assortment from MPC so I have no idea what they are. This morning my baby bantam is dry, fluffed and walking around. This is one new mom that's very happy she helped!

 

[mzhof]

I’m tempted to think the temperature is running a little high? Thats my immediate thought - hopefully someone more knowledgable than me will pop along soon!
For hens - I’d have locked down on day 18 too - but not expected piping this early - well done for candling and doing what you did - fingers crossed your babies make it!

I think so too. I made the mistake of trusting my (outside pre-tested thermometer) which kept showing a lower temp than the incubator. Everyday it was down 0.5 until the difference was as high as 4 whole degrees, so I kept increasing the temp in the incubator. Finally I thought to add a 2nd outside thermometer and that one matched up with the incubator, I was as high as 103!. I immediately dialed it down and threw out the first thermometer. But that's what makes me think my bantam egg was too big to get out of her shell and had to help yesterday. I hope those 4-5 days I kept the temp that high didn't cause all of them to grow too fast because the polish eggs are due next Friday and I can't imaging doing that "surgery" for each one of them (that's what I considered it, cause I'm a nurse and went in with gloves, sterile gauze, sterile tweezer and would've boiled water if I'd had time).

 

[anvia]

The first of mine has hatched pic to follow when mum lets it out again!

Yay! Congratulations!

 

[Trinitydraco]

We have chick number 1! due to a humidity issue the next 2 have gotten shrink wrapped so I chipped away at the air cell end and made a tiny tear in the membrane near their beaks. Then I moisturized the membrane I could get to, wrapped them on a wet paper towel and have put them back in the incubator to finish absorbing their yolks. Should I do anything else? Can they get out from here on their own when ready? Oh and the chick's foot is okay it just looked funny walking on my dress. Yeah little chickee number 1! 17 more to go...

 

[Perris]

so the other two turned out to have never developed, yolk and white were intermingled, with no obvious fetus to be seen in either. No matter: mum can concentrate on the two chicks now, and the whole hatching thing was for her anyway!

 

[Jules929]

Either my eyes are playing tricks on me, or I am seeing a tiny wobble from my olive with brown speckles mystery egg!

 

[dpenning]

Just candled my Pekin eggs on day 17 and while the pictures stink I THINK they are all on track!