Day 21 and not a blinking peep! UPDATE - PICS!!!

[NHDoc]

Nothing. Sigh....

If there is no progress by the time I get home from work tonight, I guess I'll pull the plug. Today is day 24.

Should I do an egg autopsy to try to figure out what went wrong?

 

[Gypsy07]

It might be a rare occurrence, but people have had eggs hatch out on days 24 and 25. I'd say give it another day if you can stand the wait and probable disappointment. So what happened to your egg that pipped? You can usually see movement right at the beak tip that'll let you know it's still alive. Be careful you don't 'autopsy' a chick that's still alive...

But yes, I'd say once you've given up on them totally then have a look inside and see what stage of development they got to. Even post some pics here for folk to have a look at. I've just posted pics of one of my quitters to see what everyone thinks.

I had to open my bator today to take out the two chicks that did hatch, and I sneaked a look at the remaining seven eggs. Discarded all but one that I saw definite movement in. Misted the inside of the bator and put that one back in. Opened the others to see what had been happening. Found one cloudy yolky mess with an embryo that I think died around the 10 day mark, one tiny embryo with a huge yolk sac and four big embryos with small yolk sacs. If you're not squeamish it's a fascinating thing to see.

Anyway, I've still got one possibly viable egg in there, and I'm on day 25 now...

 

[Three Cedars Silkies]

Quote:
Now THAT's what I'm talking about!! My choice is 12 year McAllans

 

[NHDoc]

My one that zipped never progressed beyond the picture I posted. So, it's now been 36 hours, so I'm pretty sure that one's a goner.

I think I'll candle the ones that are left when I get home to see if there is any movement, but I think at this point, by the end of Day 24, it's pretty much a loss.

I'm not squeamish (I'm a doctor!) so I will definitely open up the eggs to see if I can figure out what went wrong.

 

[Three Cedars Silkies]

Bummer...I had one zip just like that and then die after it had completely zipped. Who knows why??? Beats me!

sorry about that. AFter day 25, if you know that your bator temps have been at least 99.5, it's unlikely you have any more alive in there. What you can do is to candle each one in a very dark room and see if you see any movement at all. If so, put it back in...if not, open from the air cell end and see if you see any movement.

There is usually a certain amount of chick mortality during the turning process that begins on about day 17. That's what causes "late quitters".

 

[laplantep]

I'm on day 22 and just had one hatch a couple hours ago and 4 more piping. I hope yours start too!

 

[urbanfarmer101]

Yep, I am on the going crazy boat as well. Day 21 and nothing but a grumpy broody silkie. This is our first time hatching ever, so hope I didn't do anything wrong.
Thinking about you, hope it all goes well.

 

[NHDoc]

I'm a murderer.

So, it's the end of day 24. No further movement. No peeps. So, I opened the bator. I candled the eggs- no movement.

First I examined the chick that zipped but never hatched. I'll post a photo elsewhere so as not to hijack this thread.

Then I opened one of the eggs that never pipped. Blood came pouring out. Then I realized, to my horror, that the chick was MOVING!!! I KILLED IT!!!

I immediately closed up the bator and added water, but I'm sure it's too late. It was open for a good 20 minutes.

I feel terrible. I should have been more patient, but I thought by day 24, with no movement and no pips, it was all over.

 

[Three Cedars Silkies]

Bummer...I've done that too.

So sorry...it's something that you won't ever do again!

 

[Jen333]

Thanks for sharing. I am on day 23 of my first hatch ever. So far no pipping, movement...nothing! We built a homemade incubator but have been faithful to watch the temp. very closely nut have had a little variation. With 2 thermometers in it reading different temps, I have tried my best to keep it in the middle (about 100 degrees/ still air). I was pretty sure by now they weren't going to make it. We had a 2 hour power outage on day 19 (which has not happened all year) so I wrapped the incubator in blankets. I will definatily keep them in for a few days longer. Not sure whether I should or when I should take them out to candle. Thank you for sharing your experience and sorry that happened.