I am worried. The egg that started pipping after is out. Even though my humidity is high that tiny few seconds of checking then getting so excited I took a photo which was more seconds has caused the membrane to harden. My kitchen is 69% humidity so I don’t understand. I’ve just softened it with water and picked it away. And made a bigger hole. I won’t do anymore. The other baby is out and very boisterous. But I can’t quite feel that joy yet. Though I am overjoyed she’s a girl. Who will be staying there for a quite a while until the rest appear I think. I kept humidity on the high side as I knew I’d have to
I myself use coconut oil to keep the membrane soft and wet. I too couldn't resist opening the lid , resulting in humidity dropping fast and taking it's time to recover back to its settings. As a result the membrane started to dry out pretty fast and had started to wrap itself around the babies. So I very gently and carefully picked a bit of the scale away (making sure I didn't rupture a vain) and carefully rubbed some coconut oil on it. Works like a charm and keeps things moist. Just make sure you don't put it on their nostrils (VERY gently push some of the membrane away from it with your finger, if needed). GOOD LUCK!
I used coconut oil. It still seems pretty soft. I added warm water and the humidity went up to 99 so it got a good shot of hunidty. Having to open it a little till it stabilises. Oh my this is hard! I’ve kept chickens before but not sure anything has prepared me for this!
My feeling now is that it’s not my fault because the humidity in the kitchen is 70%. I think it’s just struggling to get out. It’s just poking it’s beak out the same hole all the time. The cheer squad is having some time out. I hope she’s not an only chick. The other 7 eggs are sitting like rocks!
Tell me about it. Even after all this time I still get anxiety attacks when it comes to hatching point. Here it's two rescued Muscovy eggs that are hatching. Both are doing fine, though I slightly had to assist one with pipping externally. They are very active and "yelling", and the one I assisted being the loudest of the two, but are still absorbing the yolk and blood in the vessels so it will take a bit more time before they decide to pop out completely. I think by tomorrow morning (my time) I'll have 2 ducklings imprinting on me. All we can do now is WAIT and stress ourselves out over nothing. I don't think I ever had my nails this short.
Some chicks do struggle to get out. Like I said, I too had to assist one with the external pip (making a small hole at first and then making it large enough so it can stick its beak out). I took way too long by itself and was getting weaker by the hour. And the fact its air cell was smaller from start on than the other one didn't help it either. Those are the times in my opinion that human intervention is needed to give it a better chance of survival. That chick with it's belly up.... TOO FUNNY!
Thank you for telling me I’m not alone I intervened. The membrane had got really hard around the pip for quite a bit. It’s almost out now but looks so tired. And has a sister bouncing all over it. This really should happen when I’m asleep. Feel so bad for experimenting on these wee guys. I have read do not intervene but this is such an unnatural process and if I’ve made the mistake with humidity I wanted to give it a chance. It’s been struggling for 18 hours and was making no progress. It’s very weak and tired but will just have to wait and see now. How long do they take to stand up after hatching?
Don't worry, these things happen plenty of times. Good on you for intervening. Chances are high that the chick wouldn't have survived without you keeping a close eye on it. Well done! Usually they take a few hours to fully stand on their legs. When one is really exhausted it might need some more time to recover, so don't worry too much about it. Just give it time and make sure it's getting plenty of rest, so removing the already bouncing one could be a good idea. Make sure you provide that one with a heatlamp though. Adding a fluffy thing like a stuffed animal or a soft bath towel is no luxury either. That way it can cuddle up when it wants to and not feel that lonely. Once the weaker one is starting to bounce around too: put it together with its sibling.