Big air spaces...is this a problem?

[aidensmomma]

Yay!!! Obviously you should always go with your gut! Good luck with the hatch! The broken egg pics are so cool...not cool that the baby died, but just emphasizes how miraculous these little lives are! Amazing the development of life no matter what kind of creature you are!

 

[davemonkey]

Yay!!! Obviously you should always go with your gut! Good luck with the hatch! The broken egg pics are so cool...not cool that the baby died, but just emphasizes how miraculous these little lives are! Amazing the development of life no matter what kind of creature you are!

Yes, it was really neat to see the development of the baby chicken in the egg. Very miraculous indeed!

Just to update, we checked again and we have external pip on that one that chirped for us this morning. It is chirping ALOT. The others, nothing yet...and they might not be alive anyway.

 

[davemonkey]

Pics and some advice needed. Okay, so there was no real way to control humidity in "incubator", so I put a piece of foil over the water bowl and extended it over the eggs and the bulb of the thermometer. I was not sure if that would work (but it did) so when we saw the external pip, I removed a bit more shell so I could see if the chick was shrink-wrapped. (I also wanted to make sure the beak was visible...that it had not had trouble getting through the inner membrane.) It looks fine and moist in there, so I've covered it all back and am just giving it more time. Questions:
-How long should it take to unzip?
-Does the membrane (see egg pic) look dry, or is this fine, considering that I have humidity pretty high immediately around the egg?

Notice my high tech equipment and super-micro-calibrated thermometer. The egg that has pipped is now swaddled in a wet paper towel, and everything from the bowl, to the eggs, to the bulb of the thermometer is covered with foil to "control" humidity. (Foil was removed for the photo op.) I candled the other eggs and penciled the air spaces. I have little hope for them, but it's actually still a day early. Today is Day 20.



The initial pip was to the northeast of the actual beak location, which is why I removed as much as seen here. And the ONLY reason I removed anything at all was to check for a shrink wrapped chick. Things are looking good and moist inside right now.



Close-up of the membrane. Does this look okay/too dry? And the pip was about noon today (that we are aware of...possibly sooner). How long should it take for it to start unzipping around the shell? It's been doing ALOT...and I mean AAAALLLLLLOOOOTTTTTT of chirping and moving...but nothing as far as chipping away at more shell.

 

[wewcz5]

I would google when to assist a hatching egg. That has saved my bacon. You should find a thread that way by Sally Sunshine on the topic and it is a must read. She has pictures of dry membranes so you can compare.

 

[davemonkey]

I would google when to assist a hatching egg. That has saved my bacon. You should find a thread that way by Sally Sunshine on the topic and it is a must read. She has pictures of dry membranes so you can compare.

Thanks. I just read through it (most of it). So, I probably should NOT have tried to open the shell more...which I did realize even beforehand, but it was the lack of humidity control and potential shrink-wrap that drove me to it. It sounds like I need to give the chick at least until tomorrow to start the "zip" and just let it rest for now. I do feel that the outer membrane is drier that it should be, so I'll moisten it occasionally and keep the foil cover in place as much as possible to keep the air around the egg as humid as possible. I didn't realize how difficult it would be to simple "be patient"!!

 

[wewcz5]

Thanks.  I just read through it (most of it).  So, I probably should NOT have tried to open the shell more...which I did realize even beforehand, but it was the lack of humidity control and potential shrink-wrap that drove me to it.  It sounds like I need to give the chick at least until tomorrow to start the "zip" and just let it rest for now.  I do feel that the outer membrane is drier that it should be, so I'll moisten it occasionally and keep the foil cover in place as much as possible to keep the air around the egg as humid as possible.  I didn't realize how difficult it would be to simple "be patient"!!

..
Haha... I feel ya! I'm right there with you! My baby is still in the membrane. I just want it to poke through so it can get air. It's hard not to feel panicked over it. Good luck! Hopefully we will both be chick parents very soon!

 

[cluckcluckluke]

Un zipping can take up to 9 hrs Ive heard.

Most of my chicks ( recent hatch ) from pip to out took around 2-3 hrs.

 

[davemonkey]

It's a GIRL! (At least I'm pretty sure after studying the vent-sexing threads.) In hindsight she should have stayed another hour to finish up a bit of blood still in veins (only visible in the bottom of the egg shell...the top part of the inner membrane was fully absorbed), but her yolk was 100% absorbed. She kept fighting and moving and chirping LOUDLY, so I helped remove a bit of shell in the air space area. I would remove a bit, then wait 30 minutes. Then some more, then wait an hour, etc... Finally, at 3:33 AM (that's so cool to me!) she kicked out and was clambering to get out of that shell. She is so feisty!
My daughters came up with a name the very instant they saw her (before we even knew the sex....which I'm 90% sure on). Introducing, "Skylark Faustina", an EE/Fayoumis mix. (EE mom, Fayoumis dad):






This is what my older girls woke up to. I said, "Guess whose birthday it is today!"
"It's YOURS, Dad!"
"Guess who ELSE's birthday it is."
"SKYLARK!"
(The younger one came up with the name at the spur of the moment...too funny.)

 

[davemonkey]

Our little puff-ball all dried up and eager to explore. Anyone know what to make of the color? Would that be a "rust" color? (I'm not good with color names.)

 

[Paulaann]

Obviously, you realize that this little puff is NOT really a chicken, is it? Looks like a new edition of the family to me.