Diary & Notes ~ Air Cell Detatched SHIPPED Chicken Eggs for incubation and hatching

[lizanne]

Opinions please....I am at the very end of day 21 with this hatch. In the bator were:

3 of my mutts
9 shipped Welsummer eggs

One of my mutts pipped yesterday around 9pm and 2 more this morning. #1 pip made no progress so I just checked and confirmed it hit a vein and bled out internally

#2 and #3 mutts pipped early this morning and started to zip this afternoon and have done nothing since - membranes starting to look dry.


Meanwhile I candled 3 of the Welsummers and suspected they were dead. I drilled a tiny peep hole and confirmed one stopped developing early, one died probably around day 18 and both had chalk white internal membranes. The 3rd one is alive, had internally pipped toward the center of the egg and the membrane also looked chalk white in the center with only the edges still looking moist - looks somewhat shrink wrapped. I applied coconut oil to the membrane and confirmed it still needs to absorb blood etc. So its back in the bator to party on...

Now - dilemma - Most of these air cells are WAY funky and were detached when they arrived. I suspect 3 were dead on lockdown but are too dark to tell for sure. I am afraid that if there are any alive in there they might be int the same malpositioning predicament as this one and might make it if I drill a hole like oz does.

What would YOU do?

If they haven't piped yet they might still be ok. You could drill a little hole in the air cell, and see what's going on in there.

 

[familypendragon]

If they haven't piped yet they might still be ok.  You could drill a little hole in the air cell, and see what's going on in there. 

Yeah, see that is what my gut is telling me... the one alive one is in a funky position with its beak pointed in to the center, no wing over its head and all kind of sideways in the egg. I hatched these upright in the carton once I put them into lockdown in the hatcher. Not sure it helped :/

 

[ozexpat]

Opinions please....I am at the very end of day 21 with this hatch. In the bator were:

3 of my mutts
9 shipped Welsummer eggs

One of my mutts pipped yesterday around 9pm and 2 more this morning. #1 pip made no progress so I just checked and confirmed it hit a vein and bled out internally

#2 and #3 mutts pipped early this morning and started to zip this afternoon and have done nothing since - membranes starting to look dry.


Meanwhile I candled 3 of the Welsummers and suspected they were dead. I drilled a tiny peep hole and confirmed one stopped developing early, one died probably around day 18 and both had chalk white internal membranes. The 3rd one is alive, had internally pipped toward the center of the egg and the membrane also looked chalk white in the center with only the edges still looking moist - looks somewhat shrink wrapped. I applied coconut oil to the membrane and confirmed it still needs to absorb blood etc. So its back in the bator to party on...

Now - dilemma - Most of these air cells are WAY funky and were detached when they arrived. I suspect 3 were dead on lockdown but are too dark to tell for sure. I am afraid that if there are any alive in there they might be int the same malpositioning predicament as this one and might make it if I drill a hole like oz does.

What would YOU do?

I would assist any chick that started zipping more than 6 hrs ago. The chick zipping is a pretty good indication that its veins are reabsorbed but move methodically - removing shell without membrane until you can assess properly.

The rest I would drill and assess - but thats just me.

 

[familypendragon]

I would assist any chick that started zipping more than 6 hrs ago. The chick zipping is a pretty good indication that its veins are reabsorbed but move methodically - removing shell without membrane until you can assess properly.

The rest I would drill and assess - but thats just me. 

One of my zippers has picked it back up a bit so sitting tight for now on them. But I just checked 2 more Welsummers and 1st is alive and same malposition. 2nd pipped a vein and is dead in a pool of blood

 

[ozexpat]

Drilling holes in eggs

Once upon a time I watched a video on a commercial hatchery. In their hatching process, on day 18 they candle every egg with a computer and light sensors. Then, after culling inferts and underdeveloped embryos, they punch a small hole in every egg to instill Marek's vaccine prior to hatching. I was surprised but could not get it out of the front of my memory.
'
My hatching rates are poor when I transport eggs but on the "getting the flock out of here part 3" hatch, I lost about 30% of chicks that pipped internally. They were oversized, wet chicks that had no room to move. Some drowned but others just pooped out. Even some that pipped externally were so exhausted that they died before they could open the shell.

This last hatch I decided I was going to drill every egg on day 19. I did it to try and dry any fluid in air cell as well as give wet large chicks a head start on breathing well oxygenated air - not directly to assist in the final hatching process.

This hatch I lost 1 chick to failure to hatch. I only had bernie assist 1 chick as well.

Everything has risks and benefits. It works for me in a high humidity environment. I would not risk infection on a dry hatch.

 

[familypendragon]

I have a chick with green liquid bubbling out of its mouth still in the shell. I am afraid to put it back in the bator - what do I do?

 

[sumi]

I have a chick with green liquid bubbling out of its mouth still in the shell. I am afraid to put it back in the bator - what do I do?

Oh my heck, that does not sound good. Have you got space in the 'bator for a small bowl? Then put the chick/egg in a bowl and put that in there, so it's separate from the others and there's no risk of contamination.

 

[familypendragon]

Oh my heck, that does not sound good. Have you got space in the 'bator for a small bowl? Then put the chick/egg in a bowl and put that in there, so it's separate from the others and there's no risk of contamination. 

I didn't dare put it back in with the others I tried actually rigging up our Excalibur dehydrator to keep it warm and humid with a ton of wet towels and bowls of water. It did not make it but a few more minutes anyway. My first pipper died having hit a big vein when pipping. I ended up drilling a peep hole in the others and found 4 were dead already. I have one RIW chick out, 1 Marans chick most of the way out, and 4 of the shipped Welsummers pipped internally but will have to be assisted to hatch. Every single on of them was in a horrible position. Pretty sure none would have hatched without assistance. All the shipped eggs are the worst. 3 pipped toward the center of the egg internally and could not reach the shell to pip externally. Their air cells were very wonky and their inner membranes were somehow dried out even though they weren't externally pipped yet. I see feet over heads, heads between legs and one may have birth defects - won't know till its out. I think I see one giant foot and one tiny one :/

 

[sumi]

What a nightmare... I'm so sorry to hear this

 

[familypendragon]

The Marans chick is out now, but I am worried. I see a greenish tinge in the base of the egg and I am trying to decide if its belly looks swollen :/ And the navel isn't fully closed, but I don't know if I should mess with it or let it dry out a bit in there first.