External pipping without pipping the air sac

[RakheeJones]

Hi,
I've finally registered with this site after readying the incredibly helpful post over the past few years.

Need help with Silkie/Houdan hatchings. Came down this morning to find a new little chick that ahead pipped externally but not internally.

It pipped at day 19 along with 2 others. All pipped below air sack (no internal pips - candled them whilst they were still in the incubator and saw all had large air sacks).

Can hear one cheeping away to the hatched chick but again it's pipped below air sack. I'll leave them alone and see what happens but was wondering what could have caused this during incubation period?

 

[Kiraeh]

Usually it means the eggs were kept with the pointy end up at some point during storage or incubation, although it can happen randomly at well and is more common in eggs that are incubated horizontally, even if they're never pointy end up. Three in a hatch does seem like something is up.
On the upside, as you're finding out, it rarely prevents a chick from hatching normally.

 

[RakheeJones]

Thank you. Never hatched any of Dots eggs (the houdan) and all the other eggs have been fertilised by the bhrama not the Silkie, so it's a first with both birds.

Another ones hatched so fingers crossed. They were all stored pointy end down (hubby asked why I was being weird about storing them).

The only thing I can think of was change in humidity (the second reservoir was topped up accidentally).

Will wait and see