Eggs Pipping??

[Charlene1234]

What is pipping? I'm hatching my very first batch in Miss Prissy's incubator and I put them in on Thusday morning 7/31. Tonight as I was turning them I saw 3 eggs cracked! One has a pea size hole and is chirping. Is this too early?? My temps have been up and down lately and so has my humidity so I'm worried I might have cooked them to coming out too early?? I thought they were due Thursday. I have a medley from Bantams to ducks (which I know take longer). The old man down the road gave me a nice bunch.

 

[silkiechicken]

If you set them on the 31st they'd be due on the 20th. Pipping on day 19 does happen so stop turning, up the humidity and sit tight. The chicks should start hatching out over the next 3 days or so. Resist the urge to "help" as it is often not needed. Give them time. For early pips it can take upwards of 48 hours to hatch. The longest one I have had take to hatch pipped first and was the LAST to actually make it out! Took the little guy two whole days.

You say you have duck eggs too and those need higher humidity so it will be interesting times. Just try not to disturb them too much. A few days of not turning the duck eggs in the last critical days for the eggs won't hurt them. Best of luck!

 

[shmooborp]

just dont turn them and boost the humidity and DONT OPEN THE INCUBATOR! st on your hands if u have to. pipping is what the eggs are doing right now, they pip a small hole in the shell and then zip , which is when they pip all the way around, and then hatch

good luck

 

[Charlene1234]

Thank you!! I would have kept turning the others!! I turned up the humidity but it's around 70-75% now and my temps are around 100 even. Will this work still? I don't have a fancy incubator - just an ice chest turned into Miss Prissy's amazing magic trick!! The sad part is that my kids are at Grammy's house this week and they're missing it all. :-( They'll be SO disappointed. Guess I'll have to start another batch!! ;-)

 

[swtangel321]

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75% sounds a little high to me, I up mine to about 65, i guess 70 would be ok !!! dont wanna drown the little ones !!!

 

[chickenfanatic]

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precisely couldnt have said it better good luck and keep us posted

 

[Charlene1234]

I wanted to post the results on my chicks and ducks that were incubated together. I had 19 chicken/banty eggs - 11 hatched. Out of my 3 duck eggs, 2 hatched. I think the ducks must be hardy b/c my hubby was left with the responsibility this weekend of watching the incubator while I was away and I don't think he paid much attention. But last night they started pipping and today we have two darling ducklings. The chicks are all doing great too. Now to toss the eggs that didn't make it. Might give the last duck egg another day...? I candled it about day 13 and it was good but guess it didn't make it through my fluxuating temps and humidity. Homemade incubator did well enough though.