Day 21 bantam egg... no pip, peep, or movement

[peanutfeather]

out of the 10 eggs that I thought would be growing only 1 egg grew and had veins. this year my Silkie chicken hatched 3 eggs and 2 chicks lived (other 1 died we dont know why but we found it under the hen dead) and the eggs are from the same chicken, my porcelain d'uccle . the porcelain d'uccle is currently sitting on her own egg i removed the other 9 and put them under my silkie hen cause she got broody again

. just so she will know she is sitting on eggs and not get worried. that other 1 egg was the only one with veins in it. on day 17 it had tons of movement, but day 21 none at all or maybe i just can't see it. i candled it today and it was all shadow except the air sac and a little space above that and i could see a few veins connected to the air sac still. i was scared if it was gonna pip while i candled so i candled the whole egg in about 10 seconds and put it down (i tried not to be fast though) i'm worried the egg got too humid because every other egg had a huuuge air sac! but not this egg. just maybe it didn't show?

so what should i do? i heard eggs can hatch until 24 days. i'm worried cause what if the egg is gonna hatch but it gets too humid and suffocates! should i put it in a cooler place because the chicken's skin is touching the egg so maybe too much warmth for the last days?

i'm just so worried idk what to do!

 

[msashley]

Can you put the egg in warm water? If it floats its notgoing to hatch. If it bounces around give it more time. Always use warm water

 

[mtgrl]

I have the same exact thing happening to me. Out of 11 peafowl eggs only one developed. Was due to hatch 5 days ago and still no movement, tried the float test but no wiggling around (https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/...ng-egg-viability-for-late-or-overdue-hatching), but when I candled it I could still see the veins, so I suppose it's still alive?

 

[gander007]

Can you put the egg in warm water? If it floats its notgoing to hatch. If it bounces around give it more time. Always use warm water

@msashley, has a point there ... warm water is 100 F degrees .....

 

[peanutfeather]

does the float test hurt the chick

 

[mtgrl]

No, it won't. But I'm not sure if in your case it will actually help anything-you already know that your egg has developed already, and the point of the float test is to find out which eggs were infertile or quit early. Because the embryo in your egg is probably developed already, your egg will most likely float just below the water line. Meaning a good egg. It won't tell you if the chick is still alive or not, though, unless it starts wriggling. But if it doesn't wiggle that doesn't conclusively mean it's dead.

For the record, I'm in your same situation and I tried the float test on all my eggs. None of them wiggled. But two have hatched and one of them is still showing blood vessels when I candle it, which I think is a lot better test to see if it's alive or not.

I think I know what's going on with my egg. The thermometer I had had a cardboard backing and when it got wet, it shrank so it was registering hotter than it really was. I've been running my incubator 10 degrees colder than it should be. When eggs are incubated at a lower temperature, the embryo slows down its metabolism and stops growing as fast. Thus it can take weeks longer for the chick to fully develop. Your incubator might be a little cold, too. That would explain why your eggs are so far overdue. I say double check the temperature and raise it if it's not warm enough, keep candling them until they either hatch or the chick is obviously deceased-the blood vessels would have disintegrated if it was dead. If not, the chick should continue to grow until the entire egg is a dark mass. A float test won't hurt but it won't really conclude anything either.

 

[peanutfeather]

well my 'incubator' is actually a hen haha.
it will be day 23 tomorrow (8/2/14) and thats when if it doesnt hatch im going to test out the float test and see if it's wiggling. if it doesn't wiggling then i'll be so scared because i don't know if it's alive or not but it could be alive as you said. but if i candle the egg tomorrow which will be day 23 what should i expect to see? i mean i'm PRETTY positive it's fully developed. in day 17 it was moving everywhere and stuff but i didn't check further than 17 days because, you know, lock-down. but i checked on day 21 and today which is day 22 and i saw the air sac with a few small sort of darker red veins still attached to the air sac. the part where the veins connected was a dark mass that the light went through. i looked through the whole egg and it wasn't moving. i'll check tomorrow morning for a chick, a pip, or atleast a peep. goodness i'm so worried idk what to do i cried cuz im 12 and chickens are my fav animal

and if this chick is dead i'll be devastated. i get attached to the little embryos quickly when i candle them and its like they are my baby. it's just so upsetting.

but do you have any ideas what i shold see if the chick is dead?
what about if its alive?
if you'd like any pics let me know.

 

[mtgrl]

I know how you feel. I hope your egg hatches.

As for the whole how to tell if they're alive thing, I don't know. I've been candling and float testing this one from the start and I never saw any movement from it at all, but I'm sure the vessels would have disintegrated a long time ago if it was dead, since they did in all the other ones. It would make sense that the slower developing ones would also be less active, I would think, but that's just a speculation.

 

[Stiggy]

I would just give it time and see how it goes. My babies hatched late last night and this morning and are 5 days over due, however the incubator was out by a couple of degrees so that's why. Chickens generally do a good job, but sometimes their thermomiters are off, which can make them take longer

 

[peanutfeather]

5 days? wow that's long!

anyways today the egg didn't hatch. it looked the same as yesterday and the veins are still connected to the air sac (only a few).
i'm starting to now think the chick is still developing or taking in the yolk.
i tried the float test today with warm water but i didn't know the exact temperature. nothing moved. i only waited for about 20 seconds though after the egg settled down because i was worried the egg would be harmed.

also i only saw veins developing on around day 7. maybe the progression is just a little late than usual? my last hatch's eggs all started showing veins on day 5 and they all hatched well.
KEEP IN MIND THE EGG IS A BANTAM EGG! even if the chick was dead wouldn't i be able to see a blood ring? i don't see one at all. anyways the egg has been incubated by the hen for 23 days as of today. my last hatch has been incubated for 21 days and they all hatched by that day BUT they did start showing veins earlier. i'm pretty sure that has to do with something.

anyways hope u can help me out and thanks.