Fifth Grade Classroom 21 days of questions

[Mammachix]

It's finally day 21! Some of our eggs are rolling. None have pipped yet, and no cheeping yet either. We candled 3 to make sure they are okay, and they are still moving in there and one still has some room to grow we think.

Our question today is about the humidity. We have it up to about 58%. Is that high enough? If not, how can we get the humidity higher? We have the water wells full.

We are trying to be patient. Hopefully we will have our baby chicks tomorrow!

 

[Kelsie2290]

Good luck with your chicks! Usually you want humidity around 60-65% at lock down. Depending on the incubator set up, if you can, usually the easiest way to get humidity higher is to put sponges or something similar in ... you can put them in the water wells sticking up slightly, to increase the surface area the water has to evaporate from... if it is hard to put something in the wells, then you can also put small jars or bowls of water in the incubator by the eggs, again with sponges. If you have something like the Brinsea 20s a piece of paper towel going from the the bottom water wells to the sides of the incubator works well.

 

[Mammachix]

One egg has pipped and she is chirping up a storm! Some others are rolling. We put a wet washcloth in there last night and got the humidity up. We also carefully candled the eggs, and all 8 chicks were still moving around in their shells. None had pipped internally as of last night.

However, we are a little worried because the egg that has pipped externally did so on the wrong end. Does this mean it's likely that the other chicks are position wrong too? They have nice-sized air cells and we want them to use them! We are worried that a chick will pip internally at the wrong end and not have enough air to breathe and will not be able to pip externally.

Is there anything we can do at this point? Is there any way to know if they are positioned correctly?

Thanks!

 

[Mammachix]

Very sad news on our hatch. We have lost 3 of the 8 chicks. We had to assist and 6 of the 8 were malpositioned. I read something on a different thread that this is not unusal when the eggs are incubated horizontally. We are rooting for the last five and giving them time to absorb their yolks and finish coming out on their own.

 

[Kelsie2290]

Sorry about the chicks you've lost. Pipping at the wrong end is not that uncommon, you do lose more than if they were pipping at the large end, but a good percentage should still hatch. The Poultry Site link about malpositions is the one you probably saw http://www.thepoultrysite.com/artic...-hatchery-practice-examining-the-hatch-debris

 

[chippysmom327]

That's sad Here's a guide on assisted hatching:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/step-by-step-guide-to-assisted-hatching

 

[Farmer Viola]

Quote: You can try to intervene and help the chick hatch; it's a controversial decision that requires a lot of patience to do properly.

I don't think there is a way to know if they are positioned correctly now. If they are not positioned correctly, there is no way of changing it by this point. If they were incubated with the large end up, they should be in the proper position.

One thing you can do to encourage them to pip at the correct end of the egg is to place them in an egg carton, large end up, inside the hatcher. This is often used for shipped eggs.

A chick will first pip into the air cell, and if you were to candle the egg at that time, you could see a beak poking out toward the egg shell/light. Then they rest for 8-24 hours. It is very important that you give them PLENTY of time before trying to help them out. 21 days is a baseline for hatching, but it can also take up to 23-25 days!

With the one who pipped on the wrong side, he is probably not in the correct hatching position. His head might be in between his feet, instead of under his wing. He probably cannot get out no matter how long you wait, because he is in the wrong position.

It is still important to wait 8-24 hours though after pip before intervening. The blood vessels within the membrane are being pulled into the chick, so you do not want to accidentally rupture an existing vein (if you do, dab cold water (or cornstarch? is that right?) on it to stop the bleeding and put the egg away for an hour). The purpose of the waiting period is to let the chick (naturally) absorb the blood into it's body so the shell and membrane can be left behind safely.



for teacher's eyes only:

here is the written guide, without photos
Intervention: Helping Your Chicks Hatch
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/9316/intervention-helping-your-chicks-hatch

Step by Step Guide to ASSISTED Hatching
this is a guide WITH GRAPHIC PHOTOS. Not sure how much you are choosing to expose them to?
this has pictures of dead baby chicks right at the top, so warning!!!!
https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/step-by-step-guide-to-assisted-hatching