Day 22 -No Hatching But Can See Movement?

[HuskerHens18]

Aww that's awesome! Yes, the kids were so excited! Now another one has pipped so we have two hatching now!

That's so awesome!!!

 

[jayytee17]

We have two little chicks! I started with seven eggs, one of the ones died after pipping =( these two hatched and I had four eggs left, I just opened them all up because it's been 30 full days since I put them in and all of them but one had full grown chicks =( I'm so sad! What could have caused that?? And the one I opened up is still moving so I left it in the shell with the membrane intact but now I'm afraid that I should have left it alone! Any suggestions on how to help it???

 

[HuskerHens18]

We have two little chicks! I started with seven eggs, one of the ones died after pipping =( these two hatched and I had four eggs left, I just opened them all up because it's been 30 full days since I put them in and all of them but one had full grown chicks =( I'm so sad! What could have caused that?? And the one I opened up is still moving so I left it in the shell with the membrane intact but now I'm afraid that I should have left it alone! Any suggestions on how to help it???

Incubation is hard, even getting 50% hatch rates can be hard work. I'm wondering if your incubator is too cold. How old were the eggs before you set them in the incubator? 10 days are generally the maximum you should keep them before incubation. So many things can go wrong, please don't blame yourself. On the one still alive, just put it back in the incubator and make sure you have good humidity so the membrane doesn't dry out. If it starts drying out, take warm water and gently re-wet the membrane. But avoid the beak or it will drown!
If you want to help it, you have to be ready to accept you could kill it. If you have flat headed tweezers, you can carefully chip the shell and make a "zip" around the egg, but try not to hurt the membrane.

 

[jayytee17]

What do you mean by zip the shell? Here is a picture of what it looks like! I got the eggs from my friend who said her chickens laid the eggs the day before I put them in the incubator! She also gave me some duck eggs that I planned to use for eating but all the eggs were in the same carton when I picked them up and I'm starting to wonder if one accidentally got mixed up and made it's way into the incubator ‍ I put a wet paper towel over it this morning to keep the membrane from drying out and I just checked again and whatever is inside the egg is still alive! I'm worried though as there is a hole in the membrane...

 

[Unexpected chicken lover]

From the pictures I still see some pretty big veins...keep the membrane moist and give it awhile

 

[jayytee17]

From the pictures I still see some pretty big veins...keep the membrane moist and give it awhile

Yes agreed, it doesn't look like anything has been absorbed yet! I'm keeping it damp so hopefully that will work, fingers crossed!

 

[HuskerHens18]

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/step-by-step-guide-to-assisted-hatching.64660/
Read this, graphic picture warning. With that much shell off the egg, I don't think I'd do anything to help it yet.

 

[Fields Mountain Farm]

Congrats on the two. Im sure the kids are loving it.
You may want to consider using coconut oil, Vaseline or Neosporin to keep the membrane moist. Just use a q-tip to apply it. Also, a damp papertowel is not a good idea as it can chill the chick and cause more moisture to evaporate...
Best wishes for it to hatch.

 

[jayytee17]

Confirmed: it's a duck! Lol

As I was removing the paper towel to put coconut oil on the membrane, I noticed a little bill! Not a beak, but a BILL. It was opening and closing its mouth and I read that that is a good sign as that means it is absorbing the yolk and stuff. Technically it's "supposed" to hatch tomorrow as that is day 28 so I'm praying the coconut oil keeps the membrane from drying out. The hole in the membrane is at the top where it's little bill is so I'm hoping that means it won't drown! Here is a picture, you can see the circled part has the little bill and that's where the hole in the membrane is.

 

[jayytee17]

Ugh unfortunately the little guy didn't make it =( thank you guys for the advice though, I really appreciate it!