First time hatching ~ Do I leave it alone?

[Reptigirl]

I'm hatching out my 1st set of eggs! They have been at 100 degrees. At first they were in a still air incubator @ about 30% humidity. Then on day 18 I moved them to a different incubator because I have 3 staggered hatches so the rest still need the turner. The second incubator is a forced air incubator with humidity at 68%.

4 of my 5 eggs hatched overnight. 5th egg has not piped and I'm not hearing any peeping from it. The other 4 babies are still drying off but they are rolling egg # 5 all over the place! Should I leave the chicks in the incubator to dry or move them? Eggs are actually not at day 21 until this evening so I'm not too worried about the one that didn't hatch. I just don't want the other babies to hurt it.

 

[Ceinwyn]

Is there any way you can isolate it in a corner and block them off without removing them?
Alot of studies have shown vocalizations from clutchmates helps synchronize hatches and increases hatchabiilty.

Hope your last little one shows up quickly and congratulations on your new babies.

 

[Reptigirl]

Good that's what I did.... felt so bad for the poor egg. If the chick is still alive I worry it wont know which way is up!

How long should I leave it before assuming the worst and tossing it?

 

[suzettex5]

I would leave the egg till tomorrow at least. It may just be a slow developer. The other chicks are fine for 2 days (maybe its three, but I never go more than 48 hours) without food or water. You can snatch the others out real quick if you want to and leave the other egg an extra day or two, or candle it for movement later tonight. After 48 hours, toss it.

 

[chickenfinatic14]

once I had eggs that hatched 4 days late! When I hatch chicks, the last egg always gets tossed around, but it ends up being fine. You can isolate it just in case though. The chick can find its way up after being rolled. I wouldn't worry about it.