So, 14 LF Araucana eggs made it to lockdown in cartons. On Saturday (Day 20) I had three little pips. Yesterday (Day 21) the first egg zipped very quickly and popped his top. Then he just sat there in the bottom of the egg all day. When I finally intervened and pulled the egg out, he rolled right out and his little legs and feet were all curled up under him. The legs are a little less curled today but his toes are very small and curled up like little fists. Yesterday afternoon the second egg zipped and the chick popped out very quickly. I went to the bathroom as he was zipping and came back and he was sitting next to his egg. That little guy seems fine. This morning (Day 22) the third little guy zipped his egg very quickly . . . and then nothing. All day I watched him. Eventually I realized he'd worked his head down under the zip line and was stuck, so I popped his top for him. He still couldn't get his head out and I realized his membrane had started to dry and he was stuck to it, so I put a wet towel next to him. After an hour or so I gave up and de-shelled him--but left the membrane intact and just wet it gently with water. He was able to shake it off pretty quickly and now seems to be doing well. No sign of movement yet from the remaining eggs, but I started to notice an odor when I checked on the eggs (the incubator is in one of my kitchen cabinets for extra insulation). So I had to open the incubator and check the eggs. One of the egg cartons was soaked through from the towel, so I had to move the eggs anyway. One was obviously bad so I tossed it. Now I'm just waiting to hear more little peeps.
