Eggtopsy: What happened to my egg? {Graphic Pictures}

[Grandma Buswalk]

On no! That's my worst fear! How many days late was it? I always start my eggtopsies by putting a whole in the air cell and making sure there is no movement. I'm scared to death of that happening. If it hadn't hatched yet, chances are it wasn't going to. I'm so sorry!

Thank you. I don't know if I'll ever learn what I need to know but I'm going to keep trying. That's a good idea about the hole in the end. Thank you. It was 21 days two day ago. Most of the chicks had hatched but I have a few stragglers. I thought they were all dead. What a surprise!!

 

[RubyNala97]

Thank you. I don't know if I'll ever learn what I need to know but I'm going to keep trying. That's a good idea about the hole in the end. Thank you. It was 21 days two day ago. Most of the chicks had hatched but I have a few stragglers. I thought they were all dead. What a surprise!!

Hatching is a huge learning experience! My first hatch I had one egg left over and I thought it was dead, so I opened the egg and saw it was alive but I accidentally tore the membrane and it bleed bad and died. It was two days after all the other eggs hatched and when I candled it didn't look right. I felt terrible. But I'm always extra careful now. I turn the incubator off and wait 24 hours to do the eggtopsies. You live and learn! It happens to all of us!

 

[LittleFarmerDee]

Thank you for this post! This is my first hatch ever! We have 6 live and 5 that haven't pipped, or moved, or chirped. I'm quite sad as I wanted to help so I did a pip hole that I assume may have killed my chick. I like that you are reviewing what could have happened. This particular chick didn't move when I candled a day before so I'm not sure what may have happened. However I still feel like this was my fault.

 

[Laodicia]

Thank you for this post! This is my first hatch ever! We have 6 live and 5 that haven't pipped, or moved, or chirped. I'm quite sad as I wanted to help so I did a pip hole that I assume may have killed my chick. I like that you are reviewing what could have happened. This particular chick didn't move when I candled a day before so I'm not sure what may have happened. However I still feel like this was my fault.

If there was no movement baby was already gone. Hope you havent been beating yourself up for trying to help. I have partially helped and fully helped my hatches. I havent found my help caused the death of any of them the only chick i lost was a malpossition.

 

[RubyNala97]

Thank you for this post! This is my first hatch ever! We have 6 live and 5 that haven't pipped, or moved, or chirped. I'm quite sad as I wanted to help so I did a pip hole that I assume may have killed my chick. I like that you are reviewing what could have happened. This particular chick didn't move when I candled a day before so I'm not sure what may have happened. However I still feel like this was my fault.

Did you make a small hole into the air cell first?

 

[LittleFarmerDee]

If there was no movement baby was already gone. Hope you havent been beating yourself up for trying to help. I have partially helped and fully helped my hatches. I havent found my help caused the death of any of them the only chick i lost was a malpossition.

Thank you for the advice. The one I pipped, did die. However it was perfectly formed and in the correct position. There was no internal pip, so I decided I would help, with that being said I made the pip hole, then got curious as to how it looked, so I kept "helping" in my mind....I did kill it. I thought allowing it to sit in the incubator after I had "helped" it to half way, it would be okay, however I didn't break the sack and it suffocated the chick, I did an eggtopsy on it and the chick had completely consumed the yolk. The other 4 that were left after that did not hatch, I was very concerned with after 7 more days, we did an eggtopsy on them and one died during incubation period, one was not fertilized, the other 2 didn't make it past day 3 or 4 it appeared. So those made me feel okay. The one I "helped", I can honestly say that the next batch will not get help until day 25 if need be.

 

[LittleFarmerDee]

Yes, I did, then I made a larger hole and it carried on. In my mind RubyNala97 I was "helping" so I helped and then allowed it to stay in the incubator after without helping with the sack....that in turn suffocated the chick and it did die. However the other 4 that didn't pip, we're not an issue that I did. They didn't make it through the process. One wasn't fertilized and 2 didn't make it past day 3 or 4, the other died about day 10 ish.... so that's okay. I do however know, next time I won't help AT ALL until day 25 if need be.

 

[WVduckchick]

Even though a chick may look fully formed and perfect, if it died without pipping on its own, or probably even after you helped, its not likely your fault. (unless you helped too soon, or ruptured a blood vessel or something like that) Some have leg issues and can't turn properly, some are just too weak, and others we just dont know why. Mother Nature works in mysterious ways. I feel that assisting at least gives one a shot. If I have to cull for an unforeseen reason, then so be it. I've assisted and had them develop perfectly afterwards, and I've also failed to assist ones that look like they would have been perfect if I had helped sooner. Its all about timing. And Mother Nature. I say go with your gut, and do what you think is right.

 

[LittleFarmerDee]

Thank you for that. I wanted to save them all, as we are all very aware, there isn't a way we can make each and everyone of our incubated eggs become our beloved birds. I do appreciate all the support from this group. Thank you all once again, I absolutely LOVE these threads.

 

[LittleFarmerDee]

Im not sure which one you are asking about. The fully developed egg or the other 4 that didn't even make it past 10 days. The fully developed chick i did pip on day 24, I was so excited after the first 6 made it!! Then I decided after about 3 hours that there should be some sort of movement, chirping, something.....yet there was nothing, so I began "helping" my chick get out, then I got scared and put my chick back in the incubator with the sack still fully wrapped around it, an hour or two later, no pipping, no movement and then I took the egg out again and decided that I needed to completely remove the chick from the shell. At that point it was too late, it had already been suffocated. The other 4 didn't make it past 10 days. one egg didn't make it past day 3-4, 2 eggs must have gotten a virus, and died during incubation process. One however wasn't even fertilized. It seems really weird because I candled each at day 7 and found the veins and the heart beat, so maybe it was just a trick of lighting or my hopes, but it was a dud.