Egg hatch shrink wrapping?

[Alexacfreeman]

I had broke through the air cell per someone who had been hatching for 3 years advice because it was 48 hours after hatch time and it hadn’t pipped but I did not break the membrane because there’s clearly vessels. I’ve been keeping the membrane wet and chick is alive but is this shrink wrapped? Should I be worried? I know now not to do a lot of the things I’ve done with these poor babies but live and learn can’t beat myself up I guess. I might be over worrying with this baby but I just wanna make sure it isn’t shrink wrapped. When the membrane dries it’s white and I haven’t let it stay white because I figure that means it’s drying which isn’t good. Advice is appreciated I feel like such a bad chicken momma.

 

[Offshoreorca]

It's not ready to hatch yet. Keep the membrane moist, but make sure its not so moist that oxygen can't get through. It isn't shrink wrapped in that photo, but it is something to watch for.

Late chicks can hatch, but often it indicates deeper issues if there wasn't low temperatures in your incubator to slow the hatch.

I see a lot of moisture on the outside of the egg and you don't want that. Try to only keep the membrane moist.

 

[kyeschicks]

If it has been 48 hours and it hasn't hatched, then give it more time. It could mean Temps were low and the chick's hatching is delayed. If you're worried, candle the egg and check for any movement. If you see movement then leave it alone. Its a different story if the chick has internally pipped for 48 hours, then you would consider assisting.

I know we always freak out a lot when it comes to hatch day and we always think the worse, but you have to remain patient and allow them to do their thing. This chick (like you said) is not ready to hatch at all, he hasn't even poked through the membrane so I'm not sure what made you assist. I hope everything works out well and keep us updated on how he's doing! Also like you said, we live and we learn. I have done the same thing in the past, 12 years of experience teaches you a lot (and still learning).

 

[kyeschicks]

Also, the membrane you're worried about getting shrink wrapped around the chick is the clear one that's surrounding the chick. Its not the white one were the egg shell is.

Is this the second egg you've tried assisting? I know you had another that was bleeding. This shows they're not ready to hatch, they need more time. Don't assist any others unless they really need it, its too early. They not always hatch at Day 21, they're not programed to hatch exactly at day 21. They can hatch at day 19 and can also hatch at day 24. Depending on incubation. Hoping for the best

Tell me more about the eggs. What date and time did you set them? What did you keep temp and humidity throughout incubation? What incubator are you using, is it still air or has a fan? What date did you place them on lockdown? How many eggs total do you have right now and how many chicks have hatched.

 

[Alexacfreeman]

Also, the membrane you're worried about getting shrink wrapped around the chick is the clear one that's surrounding the chick. Its not the white one were the egg shell is.

Is this the second egg you've tried assisting? I know you had another that was bleeding. This shows they're not ready to hatch, they need more time. Don't assist any others unless they really need it, its too early. They not always hatch at Day 21, they're not programed to hatch exactly at day 21. They can hatch at day 19 and can also hatch at day 24. Depending on incubation. Hoping for the best

Tell me more about the eggs. What date and time did you set them? What did you keep temp and humidity throughout incubation? What incubator are you using, is it still air or has a fan? What date did you place them on lockdown? How many eggs total do you have right now and how many chicks have hatched.

I set the eggs on 1/21 at 7 pm. Temp was 99.5 and humidity was at 50%. Then I upped the humidity to 65%. I’m using the little giant incubator. It had the turner in it but I removed that on day 18. I put them in lockdown on 2/8 at 6:30 pm. I had 12 eggs but there were 4 that had a red ring and no growth at day 16 so I removed those and then there was one who died in shell at day 18 so I removed that one. 5 healthy chicks were born out of the eggs.

 

[kyeschicks]

I set the eggs on 1/21 at 7 pm. Temp was 99.5 and humidity was at 50%. Then I upped the humidity to 65%. I’m using the little giant incubator. It had the turner in it but I removed that on day 18. I put them in lockdown on 2/8 at 6:30 pm. I had 12 eggs but there were 4 that had a red ring and no growth at day 16 so I removed those and then there was one who died in shell at day 18 so I removed that one. 5 healthy chicks were born out of the eggs.

First off, congrats on the new baby chicks!

-So you did good on lockdown which was on 2/8 at 7pm. Day 21 would have been 2/11 at 7pm.

-Humidity depends on location, but if I had to take a guess I'd say that you kept humidity good.

-I'm assuming your little giant incubator doesn't have a fan? if it doesn't then it's considered a still air incubator. The thing with still air incubators is that the temperature needs to be higher than the ones with fans (forced air). These still air incubators like the little giant without a fan require temperature of 100.5f to 101.0f at the top of the eggs during incubation. If I'm assuming correctly that yours didn't have a fan, then that could have been a reason these chicks were not ready to hatch at day 21 (2/11). The temp of 99.5 is considered low and would delay the hatching of the chicks for a couple days or so.

-Tips that I recommend is that before you try assisting, make sure you candle before you do. I would only consider to assist if the chick had internally pipped but has not externally pipped for more than 24hours. I would also consider assisting when the chick has pipped at the wrong end, but I would not take a huge chunk of shell. I would simply make the hole a little bigger for them get more air and then let them do its thing. Another reason I would consider to assist is when the chick has externally pipped and has not started to "zip" after 24 hours especially if you suspect shrink wrapping. Other than that, there is no other reason to assist at all. If you candle and you see the chick moving slightly (since there is not much space, but you should still be able to see a slight movement) after day 21 and you don't see any pips, that doesn't mean you need to assist. It means the chick is alive and is not ready to hatch yet, if you start removing shell you will still see those blood vessels which then puts the chick at risk for death due to infection or bleeding out.

I am starting to be more active on these forums so whenever you head to your next incubation and need some help or guidance, you can message me or mention me by putting @kyeschicks on any post and I will help you! I'm sorry you had to go through this on your incubation, but I hope it helps that nobody is perfect and most people who try to hatch for the first few times (including myself) have made mistakes. I have assisted too soon when I first started hatching chicks and because of that I did lose chicks. My last batch of chicks that I hatched a few years ago, I did have to assist and I successfully assisted in a couple chicks that needed help by following my advice I gave you on this post. I'm currently writing an article that will help those on how to incubate eggs properly and improve hatch rates Again, congrats on your baby chicks and please post pics!

 

[Alexacfreeman]

First off, congrats on the new baby chicks!

-So you did good on lockdown which was on 2/8 at 7pm. Day 21 would have been 2/11 at 7pm.

-Humidity depends on location, but if I had to take a guess I'd say that you kept humidity good.

-I'm assuming your little giant incubator doesn't have a fan? if it doesn't then it's considered a still air incubator. The thing with still air incubators is that the temperature needs to be higher than the ones with fans (forced air). These still air incubators like the little giant without a fan require temperature of 100.5f to 101.0f at the top of the eggs during incubation. If I'm assuming correctly that yours didn't have a fan, then that could have been a reason these chicks were not ready to hatch at day 21 (2/11). The temp of 99.5 is considered low and would delay the hatching of the chicks for a couple days or so.

-Tips that I recommend is that before you try assisting, make sure you candle before you do. I would only consider to assist if the chick had internally pipped but has not externally pipped for more than 24hours. I would also consider assisting when the chick has pipped at the wrong end, but I would not take a huge chunk of shell. I would simply make the hole a little bigger for them get more air and then let them do its thing. Another reason I would consider to assist is when the chick has externally pipped and has not started to "zip" after 24 hours especially if you suspect shrink wrapping. Other than that, there is no other reason to assist at all. If you candle and you see the chick moving slightly (since there is not much space, but you should still be able to see a slight movement) after day 21 and you don't see any pips, that doesn't mean you need to assist. It means the chick is alive and is not ready to hatch yet, if you start removing shell you will still see those blood vessels which then puts the chick at risk for death due to infection or bleeding out.

I am starting to be more active on these forums so whenever you head to your next incubation and need some help or guidance, you can message me or mention me by putting @kyeschicks on any post and I will help you! I'm sorry you had to go through this on your incubation, but I hope it helps that nobody is perfect and most people who try to hatch for the first few times (including myself) have made mistakes. I have assisted too soon when I first started hatching chicks and because of that I did lose chicks. My last batch of chicks that I hatched a few years ago, I did have to assist and I successfully assisted in a couple chicks that needed help by following my advice I gave you on this post. I'm currently writing an article that will help those on how to incubate eggs properly and improve hatch rates Again, congrats on your baby chicks and please post pics!

Wow thank you so much. So much helpful info and I plan on asking you if I have any future questions. It’s helpful to know others have made mistakes also. Here’s the babies we have 2 Rhode Island reds, 1 blue bresse and 2 copper marans

 

[Alexacfreeman]

First off, congrats on the new baby chicks!

-So you did good on lockdown which was on 2/8 at 7pm. Day 21 would have been 2/11 at 7pm.

-Humidity depends on location, but if I had to take a guess I'd say that you kept humidity good.

-I'm assuming your little giant incubator doesn't have a fan? if it doesn't then it's considered a still air incubator. The thing with still air incubators is that the temperature needs to be higher than the ones with fans (forced air). These still air incubators like the little giant without a fan require temperature of 100.5f to 101.0f at the top of the eggs during incubation. If I'm assuming correctly that yours didn't have a fan, then that could have been a reason these chicks were not ready to hatch at day 21 (2/11). The temp of 99.5 is considered low and would delay the hatching of the chicks for a couple days or so.

-Tips that I recommend is that before you try assisting, make sure you candle before you do. I would only consider to assist if the chick had internally pipped but has not externally pipped for more than 24hours. I would also consider assisting when the chick has pipped at the wrong end, but I would not take a huge chunk of shell. I would simply make the hole a little bigger for them get more air and then let them do its thing. Another reason I would consider to assist is when the chick has externally pipped and has not started to "zip" after 24 hours especially if you suspect shrink wrapping. Other than that, there is no other reason to assist at all. If you candle and you see the chick moving slightly (since there is not much space, but you should still be able to see a slight movement) after day 21 and you don't see any pips, that doesn't mean you need to assist. It means the chick is alive and is not ready to hatch yet, if you start removing shell you will still see those blood vessels which then puts the chick at risk for death due to infection or bleeding out.

I am starting to be more active on these forums so whenever you head to your next incubation and need some help or guidance, you can message me or mention me by putting @kyeschicks on any post and I will help you! I'm sorry you had to go through this on your incubation, but I hope it helps that nobody is perfect and most people who try to hatch for the first few times (including myself) have made mistakes. I have assisted too soon when I first started hatching chicks and because of that I did lose chicks. My last batch of chicks that I hatched a few years ago, I did have to assist and I successfully assisted in a couple chicks that needed help by following my advice I gave you on this post. I'm currently writing an article that will help those on how to incubate eggs properly and improve hatch rates Again, congrats on your baby chicks and please post pics!

I’m not sure if this is a fan or not to be honest

 

[kyeschicks]

I’m not sure if this is a fan or not to be honest

That does look like a fan to me.

It looks like your chicks are doing good and look active! Enjoy them while they're little cuz those feathers start coming out so quickly and then before you know it they're full grown lol

 

[Alexacfreeman]

That does look like a fan to me.

It looks like your chicks are doing good and look active! Enjoy them while they're little cuz those feathers start coming out so quickly and then before you know it they're full grown lol

Lol definitely