Hands on hatching and help

[zmcolbert]

Happy to say that the one that piped the wrong end is nearly free!!

 

[AmyLynn2374]

I would love to see pictures of your shrink wrapped chick.

-Kathy

These are the silkies. I had bought local eggs from a gal because I really wanted eggs out of her silkie pen because they had a SG roo, and I REALLY want SG's, but it was for the Easter hatch last year and her silkies just weren't laying well and she was only able to get 3 eggs in a weeks time. The first one hatched out before it was ready. Literally busted out the top of the egg after only 4-6 hours after pip and still had a working egg to chick vascular system and a ruptured yolk. The other two are these. (I made up my mind to only ask for eggs if the hens have been laying regularly. I had 33 hatchers out of that hatch and the silkies were the ones that didn't make it.










This one actually was able to internally pip, but could not move more than just the beak.



I had candled day 18 before I locked down and they looked good. Almost everything had hatched day 19/20. So I candled on day 20 and 2/3 of the egg was all air cell and I knew they were goners so I called it and did the eggtopsies

Happy to say that the one that piped the wrong end is nearly free!!

 

[samandemsmommy]

Amy how long after a pip (externally) that I need to possibly intervene in some way if no progress has been made since the initial pip?

 

[AmyLynn2374]

Amy how long after a pip (externally) that I need to possibly intervene in some way if no progress has been made since the initial pip?

I don't get too antsy until 18 hours. Then I may make the pip bigger to make sure it seems ok, which usually they are, and I put them back until about 24 hours. I don't let a chick go past 24 hours with starting an assist. I have more instances where I start an assist and find prominent blood vessels, put it back to have it finish its self when it's ready. If I start an assist I check every hour to see if I can make more progress until it finishes or I finish for it.

 

[ShanandGem]

Amy, I just wanted to say how helpful I find all your posts. I am waiting on my first hatch but I have your wise words playing on a loop in the back of my mind. I suspect I will be a hands-on hatcher too...

 

[AmyLynn2374]

Now, if the membranes start looking yellowish/brown and leathery, then it doesn't matter how long it's been, I'd pull it out and moisten the membranes and make sure that the inner membrane is not gluing itself to the chick. The only time I have had membranes start to dry out like that is during an assist when a big area of membrane is exposed and when you have a big exposed area you are more likely to have drying of membranes no matter how high the humidity or rather or not you open the bator.

 

[AmyLynn2374]

Amy, I just wanted to say how helpful I find all your posts. I am waiting on my first hatch but I have your wise words playing on a loop in the back of my mind. I suspect I will be a hands-on hatcher too...

Thank you. I hope you have a great hatch and join us, keeping us updated.

 

[AmyLynn2374]

I should probably add that when my eggs start pipping, I periodically play a video of chicks peeping from my phone at the bator. And during a zip I play it in a loop until they are out, (which is usually w/in 15 minutes.) I had this awesome youtube video I highly recommended and then over the winter the user pulled the video off.

So I've had to go find other's but haven't tried them yet. I will be setting my first eggs for this season hopefully in about 2 weeks. Doing shipped for the first time from @RubyNala97 's beautiful silkies and I will be adding some of my spitzhaubens too.

The plan is to be more hands off with the shipped eggs, so I have to have my own in there to feed my obsessive meddling....lol

The point to all that was the sounds of the chicks from the electronic device really keep them motivated and working especially during zip. lol

 

[samandemsmommy]

I played some today at lunch

 

[samandemsmommy]

I don't get too antsy until 18 hours. Then I may make the pip bigger to make sure it seems ok, which usually they are, and I put them back until about 24 hours. I don't let a chick go past 24 hours with starting an assist. I have more instances where I start an assist and find prominent blood vessels, put it back to have it finish its self when it's ready. If I start an assist I check every hour to see if I can make more progress until it finishes or I finish for it.

how do you help it--- do you take it completely out of the bator- wrap in warm paper towel... details... Please and thank you lol