DAY 23 No Chicks? Candle or???

[Crazyhenlady]

First timer here! Before lockdown I checked the remaining 8 eggs that had live chicks, I put them in lockdown on day 17 ( I thought it was 18 but realized you don't count the day you put them in ) day 19 eggs were wiggling etc, now NOTHING, no smells , no sounds , nothing! Lol! Should I candle or leave them alone? Using a still air 9200 , I should mention I may have had the temps a tad low and then had a spike to 104• on day 21:/ ( for around 8 hours)

 

[Lauren Kim]

I wouldn’t touch them. If they are just too weak to break free, and if you try to candle them, the movement might hurt them. Idk not an incubating professional.

 

[TheKindaFarmGal]

I'd be getting pretty worried at this point. Candle, see if there is any movement or sounds. The temp spike might have hurt them. What is the humidity at?

You'll probably end up opening the eggs after candling. Start at the end with the aircell, just break the shell (I tap it with a pocketknife until it cracks, then peel) - there you should be able to see if the chick is alive or not very easily.

Hope everything turns out okay!

 

[Egghead_Jr]

What humidity did you incubate at? Wiggling day 19 makes sense but for none to hatch 4 days later doesn't. I'd say they perished and ask about the humidity because the biggest culprit is little to no air cell. The chicks have no place to breath after internal pip.

 

[Crazyhenlady]

I'd be getting pretty worried at this point. Candle, see if there is any movement or sounds. The temp spike might have hurt them. What is the humidity at?

You'll probably end up opening the eggs after candling. Start at the end with the aircell, just break the shell (I tap it with a pocketknife until it cracks, then peel) - there you should be able to see if the chick is alive or not very easily.

Hope everything turns out okay!

 

[Crazyhenlady]

What humidity did you incubate at? Wiggling day 19 makes sense but for none to hatch 4 days later doesn't. I'd say they perished and ask about the humidity because the biggest culprit is little to no air cell. The chicks have no place to breath after internal pip.

Oh geez, this is my concern :/ this was kind of a test run and I didn't watch humidity much , I put them in on Jan 31st in the afternoon . Hmmmmm... Ya humidity may be off :/ had a couple issues with temp ..

 

[Crazyhenlady]

I'd be getting pretty worried at this point. Candle, see if there is any movement or sounds. The temp spike might have hurt them. What is the humidity at?

You'll probably end up opening the eggs after candling. Start at the end with the aircell, just break the shell (I tap it with a pocketknife until it cracks, then peel) - there you should be able to see if the chick is alive or not very easily.

Hope everything turns out okay!

So, can opening the shell where the air sac is harm them?

 

[Crazyhenlady]

So , it doesn't look good, I couple still have yolks, no movement , one egg is HAS NO AIR CELL THAT I CAN SEE???? It did when I checked it last??? All other egg air cells look great, no internal pips though. Not sure I'll do this again! Lol

 

[TheKindaFarmGal]

So, can opening the shell where the air sac is harm them?

Not when done right. It's not very hard and the more experience you get the less likely it is you'll mess up. Just be careful to not rip the membrane below the air sac area, where it could bleed. This just goes for live chicks, because if the chicks are dead, it doesn't matter much anymore.

If you ever do tear the membrane and get blood, use a paper towel to stop the flow and/or dab with flour or corn meal.

 

[TheKindaFarmGal]

So , it doesn't look good, I couple still have yolks, no movement , one egg is HAS NO AIR CELL THAT I CAN SEE???? It did when I checked it last??? All other egg air cells look great, no internal pips though. Not sure I'll do this again! Lol

If you see the yolk then it doesn't have a chick and probably never did. Were these eggs shipped? Lack of visible aircell could mean that it is detached.

It sounds like your humidity was too high. Since it's day 23, I'd open at least one of the eggs you think look good and see if the chick needs help.