Hands on hatching and help

[jenniferlamar70]

I'm having a hard time uploading pictures for some reason, but I will try to explain what is going on. (I'm clicking to add a picture from my computer, but it just stays in a constant state of "loading" and won't let me add) I have 3 Serama eggs that made it to lockdown 2 days ago. I started out with 6, but three were already past the 10 day mark and didn't make it very far, or not at all. My incubator is a still air and I've been keeping it dry for the first 18 days due to high humidity here in Southeast Texas. Dry it stays around 50%. The temperature has been steady at around 99.5-100 degrees. From everything I've read, Seramas tend to come a little earlier due to their size. On day 18, I upped the humidity to roughly 65-75%,...I just put a sponge in with water on it and it is still very hard to keep it at 65-75% without it trying to go to 80% due to our natural humidity here. Today is day 20 and still nothing. No cheeps signaling any internal pips or anything. I decided to crack the incubator open since my humidity was already so high and I kept a spray bottle with warm water on hand if I needed to spray inside. I candled and I can tell that two are DIS. UGHHHHHHHH....@!!! One is still alive though with good veins, but why hasn't it even internally pipped? What is going on? I've been monitoring everything like a hawk for the past three weeks and this is soooo discouraging. Is there anything at all I can do to help this one little lone survivor still in his/her shell?  

Your only on day 20. I would give it Adleast one more day before you do anything. Wait until tomorrow and then candle again to see if it's internally pipped yet. I know it's rough. I just went through this myself. Not much you can do until they are internally pipped and even then it can be difficult. Someone else on here may be more helpful. Good luck.

 

[WVduckchick]

I'm having a hard time uploading pictures for some reason, but I will try to explain what is going on. (I'm clicking to add a picture from my computer, but it just stays in a constant state of "loading" and won't let me add) I have 3 Serama eggs that made it to lockdown 2 days ago. I started out with 6, but three were already past the 10 day mark and didn't make it very far, or not at all. My incubator is a still air and I've been keeping it dry for the first 18 days due to high humidity here in Southeast Texas. Dry it stays around 50%. The temperature has been steady at around 99.5-100 degrees. From everything I've read, Seramas tend to come a little earlier due to their size. On day 18, I upped the humidity to roughly 65-75%,...I just put a sponge in with water on it and it is still very hard to keep it at 65-75% without it trying to go to 80% due to our natural humidity here. Today is day 20 and still nothing. No cheeps signaling any internal pips or anything. I decided to crack the incubator open since my humidity was already so high and I kept a spray bottle with warm water on hand if I needed to spray inside. I candled and I can tell that two are DIS. UGHHHHHHHH....@!!! One is still alive though with good veins, but why hasn't it even internally pipped? What is going on? I've been monitoring everything like a hawk for the past three weeks and this is soooo discouraging. Is there anything at all I can do to help this one little lone survivor still in his/her shell?  

I agree with JL but would also add that seramas carry that lethal gene and quit in the last days quite often. Do you know anything about the parents?

Also are you sure you didn't have any temp spikes? And were these eggs shipped to you?

 

[Kilkilkorken]

I agree with JL but would also add that seramas carry that lethal gene and quit in the last days quite often. Do you know anything about the parents?

Also are you sure you didn't have any temp spikes? And were these eggs shipped to you?

No temp spikes that I know of and I monitored quite closely. Okay, hovered may be a better word choice. These eggs were not shipped to me, I picked them up local and the mother and father seemed to be quite healthy, owned by an experienced breeder. The day I picked up she had a newly hatched Serama in her incubator. Honestly, I feel quite ill right now. I feel a sense of dread because I soooo want that lone little chicky to hatch, but I don't have high hopes since I didn't even see an internal pip at the beginning of day 20. And yes, I understand that regualar chicken eggs hatch around day 21, but I keep being told with the Seramas that it is more likely that they would be early due to their tiny size.

 

[Pyxis]

Well, I just did a completely assisted hatch. I know it was hatch day and not actually late but I knew something was wrong. When I candled I had four very late DIS - one malposition and the rest too big to pip and hatch on their own.

The last one however was still moving so I decided to go in. Once in there I found it internally pipped away from the air cell because it had been too big to get into position properly. It started gasping for breath the second I opened everything up so it was very very close to suffocating.

All the veins looks good so I went for the full assist. Its navel is still a little more open than I'd like so it's currently sitting in the bottom half of its shell in a cup to finish closing up. I'm so glad I decided to go with my gut feeling that something was wrong and opened that egg up.

 

[WVduckchick]

No temp spikes that I know of and I monitored quite closely. Okay, hovered may be a better word choice. These eggs were not shipped to me, I picked them up local and the mother and father seemed to be quite healthy, owned by an experienced breeder. The day I picked up she had a newly hatched Serama in her incubator. Honestly, I feel quite ill right now. I feel a sense of dread because I soooo want that lone little chicky to hatch, but I don't have high hopes since I didn't even see an internal pip at the beginning of day 20. And yes, I understand that regualar chicken eggs hatch around day 21, but I keep being told with the Seramas that it is more likely that they would be early due to their tiny size. 

Hovered lol.

Just checked my notes and I locked down 16, hatched 11, 5 DIS. First one pipped near the beginning of day 19, but didn't hatch for 22 hours, on day 20. The first hatcher (wasn't the first pipper) hatched around the beginning of day 20 only 12 hours after pip, but I ran my temps 100-100.5. Oh! You said still air! Those need a little higher temp, more like 101-102, so that could account for the delay.

I would assume an experienced breeder would not have bred 2 short legs together, so that was my other guess as to possible issue.

Was your thermometer and hygrometer tested for accuracy?

 

[WVduckchick]

Well, I just did a completely assisted hatch. I know it was hatch day and not actually late but I knew something was wrong. When I candled I had four very late DIS - one malposition and the rest too big to pip and hatch on their own.

The last one however was still moving so I decided to go in. Once in there I found it internally pipped away from the air cell because it had been too big to get into position properly. It started gasping for breath the second I opened everything up so it was very very close to suffocating.

All the veins looks good so I went for the full assist. Its navel is still a little more open than I'd like so it's currently sitting in the bottom half of its shell in a cup to finish closing up. I'm so glad I decided to go with my gut feeling that something was wrong and opened that egg up.

Wow, great save! But I have to ask a dumb question...how did it internally pip away from the air cell and not be external?

 

[Pyxis]

Wow, great save! But I have to ask a dumb question...how did it internally pip away from the air cell and not be external?

Not a dumb question! The internal membrane had pulled away from the shell where it internally pipped just a little tiny bit and had created a very small air pocket. When candling it didn't even look like it was internally pipped.

It's still pretty weak so I'm not getting my hopes up yet that it's actually going to pull through.

 

[Kilkilkorken]

Hovered lol.

Just checked my notes and I locked down 16, hatched 11, 5 DIS. First one pipped near the beginning of day 19, but didn't hatch for 22 hours, on day 20. The first hatcher (wasn't the first pipper) hatched around the beginning of day 20 only 12 hours after pip, but I ran my temps 100-100.5. Oh! You said still air! Those need a little higher temp, more like 101-102, so that could account for the delay.

I would assume an experienced breeder would not have bred 2 short legs together, so that was my other guess as to possible issue.

Was your thermometer and hygrometer tested for accuracy?

Yes, I tested my thermometer and hygrometer. At the beginning, I found so many conflicting claims as to what temperature I should set my still air at for Seramas that I went with the normal because I didn't want it too low and I didn't want to cook them, lol. I really wish there was more information available specifically for Seramas. Now I feel like I've killed my babies because I didn't have a higher temperature! Aghhhh!!! I will keep an eye out for this last one, but my gut is churning so I'm not too hopeful.

 

[jenniferlamar70]

No temp spikes that I know of and I monitored quite closely. Okay, hovered may be a better word choice. These eggs were not shipped to me, I picked them up local and the mother and father seemed to be quite healthy, owned by an experienced breeder. The day I picked up she had a newly hatched Serama in her incubator. Honestly, I feel quite ill right now. I feel a sense of dread because I soooo want that lone little chicky to hatch, but I don't have high hopes since I didn't even see an internal pip at the beginning of day 20. And yes, I understand that regualar chicken eggs hatch around day 21, but I keep being told with the Seramas that it is more likely that they would be early due to their tiny size. 

Don't be suprised if it still shows up on day 21. I read all about bantam breeds hatching early as well. Mine silkies didn't start hatching until day 22/23. It was a very bad hatch. I think bantams may be harder to hatch as well.

Well, I just did a completely assisted hatch. I know it was hatch day and not actually late but I knew something was wrong. When I candled I had four very late DIS - one malposition and the rest too big to pip and hatch on their own.

The last one however was still moving so I decided to go in. Once in there I found it internally pipped away from the air cell because it had been too big to get into position properly. It started gasping for breath the second I opened everything up so it was very very close to suffocating.

All the veins looks good so I went for the full assist. Its navel is still a little more open than I'd like so it's currently sitting in the bottom half of its shell in a cup to finish closing up. I'm so glad I decided to go with my gut feeling that something was wrong and opened that egg up.

I had to do the same with one of my orpingtons this morning. It was the first to pip and after all the others had hatched it was still just sitting there. I tapped the egg and got no chirps. When I opened it up this chick was huge. She filled the edd and all of the air cell. I got her out and she is good now but it's just crazy. I wondered ip that was why she couldn't get out.

 

[jenniferlamar70]

So my little assist silkies legs look really spaced. Maybe not spraddle legged but maybe on the way. I made a something to hold her legs closer together with those rubber band tags you can get for your chicks. Will this help?