Hands on hatching and help

[Perkington]

Do saddle Bach duck eggs need assistance in hatching

 

[Mamawills]

Hi, is there anything I can do if no internal pip? I’m hatching call ducks and can movement but no internal pip. Day 29. Thank you!

 

[Wellchick]

Hello BYC, my kids and I are doing our first incubation of hatching eggs in the Nurture Right 360. We had 10/16 fertile farm eggs hatch into healthy chicks on day 21 yesterday (we picked eggs up on the farm, so weren't in the mail). Hatched chicks are in the brooder. What do people do with the remaining 6 unhatched eggs on day 22? No more pips appearing. Should I check them out to figure out why they didn't hatch so we can improve for next time?

 

[Greenwave]

I use a Hova Bator 1588 and swear by it. I am getting ready to buy a second one because I have become addicted to hatching. I can no longer wait the 21 days it takes for my chicks to hatch before I start a new batch. Haha! I have a bator full right now of BCM and 4 Polish that I threw in to test for fertility (didn't want to waste a fertile egg by cracking it right now cuz my girls are laying only a few a week - too cold!LOL! who can blame them?!).

I too use a "dry"method during incubation - right around 30% and then increase to at least 75% for hatching. Once I did this my hatch rate went from the 30%s to the 90%s. I also help out when needed. I have had many hatches that no one needed help, and then others where 2 or 3 did. I am a Firefighter/Paramedic/RN by trade. One of the first things that I learned as a paramedic was that you can't kill a dead person... what does that mean? If they are already dead, you really can't hurt them. So you do everything that you can to help them. The only place you have to go from there is up. In my opinion, helping a doomed chick is the same thing. If they are not going to be able to hatch on their own and they are going to die anyway, then what's the harm in helping?! Yes I know, maybe the chick was not meant to hatch, maybe it will be a weak bird, maybe it has lots of issues and will have to be culled in the end. Maybe. But maybe not. Sometimes they just get tired. Sometimes they get turned around. When I use to work as an RN I worked labor and delivery. We did C-sections all of the time. Some were scheduled. Some were emergent. Guess what... some of those babies would never have survived a vaginal delivery. And after a C-section, some were fine and some had problems.

I guess what I am trying to say is that if they are going to die anyway, why not give them every opportunity. If they turn out to be a weak bird, don't breed them. If they turn out to be special needs and you are not willing/not able to care for them - cull them later, then they are no worse off than before. But what if, just what if they turned out to be a strong healthy bird? What if they turned out to be your bird with the best personality? What if God put us there with our knowledge at that very minute to help that bird for a reason.

I too do not fault those who take a hands off approach. But I like Amy agree that those of us that CHOOSE TO HELP need a place we can help each other and others that also choose to help!

 

[CAFinNY]

With the help of this article, I saved one of the ducklings in my incubator. However it was partially shrinkwrapped & part of the shrinkwapping is stuck to the back of the chick. Currently, he's out of the shell, but should I try to get that sticky stuff off him?

Thanks

 

[BelovedBirds]

With the help of this article, I saved one of the ducklings in my incubator. However it was partially shrinkwrapped & part of the shrinkwapping is stuck to the back of the chick. Currently, he's out of the shell, but should I try to get that sticky stuff off him?

Thanks

It's awesome you were able to save him!
Is it like a sticky goo, or piece of the membrane?

 

[CAFinNY]

It's awesome you were able to save him!
Is it like a sticky goo, or piece of the membrane?

Piece of the membrane. He seems to be doing well so far.

 

[BelovedBirds]

Piece of the membrane. He seems to be doing well so far.

ok, so I would moisten the membrane using coconut oil, if it doesnt come off easily, try using a little warm water on a cloth and just gently try to work it off of him. Don't pull at it as their skin is very delicate. Be very gentle. And if it comes off and all is well, just make sure he is nice and dry before putting back in the brooder. If it isn't budging, keep applying coconut oil to it to prevent it drying to his skin.
I'm not sure what would work best in this situation, but let me check with @WVduckchick and hopefully she can correct me if I'm mistaken.

 

[hrt4desh]

No incubator here, but I honestly don't know where else to post my questions. Hopefully someone can help or guide me to the right place.

Last week, my broody hen successfully hatched out two chicks. She was sitting on at least 10 eggs. After a long and disastrous ending to her brooding, there were five eggs left cold for about 2 days. Last night, Hubby and I were cleaning out her coop to just give her some time with the growing two chicks. As he was beginning to dispose off the eggs, he heard one chirping. Sadly, that chick didn't make it.

We didn't know what to do with the other eggs but we didn't want to throw them out. He found one more egg that was chirping so he very carefully opened the egg. (We found out all the things we did wrong after the chick was "hatched" out.) Hubby said he saw the yolk sack. (Again, we know we did everything wrong here.) He also noted that the chick had started pipping through the first, and maybe, second membrane.

We don't have an incubator so we put the chick in some napkins under a heat lamp and watched it. The chick was alive but was not gaining strength.

I felt like the chick needed some moisture as I've read that incubators have some kind of humidity. He wet down some of the napkins and we created a space for the chick to be surrounded but not wet by the damp napkins.

We put the chick in our house (in box with heat lamp and damp napkins) and have checked it every hour. Not only is it still alive but it's actually trying to stand!

So my question is multi faceted. First, do I need to feed the chick? Second, how long should I keep it in humidity? Third, is there anything to look for as far as an umbilical cord, etc?

I can get pictures later as I just checked it. But I thought I would post now to see if I could get some help going.

Thanks in advance for any responses!! We really could use some help!

 

[BelovedBirds]

No incubator here, but I honestly don't know where else to post my questions. Hopefully someone can help or guide me to the right place.

Last week, my broody hen successfully hatched out two chicks. She was sitting on at least 10 eggs. After a long and disastrous ending to her brooding, there were five eggs left cold for about 2 days. Last night, Hubby and I were cleaning out her coop to just give her some time with the growing two chicks. As he was beginning to dispose off the eggs, he heard one chirping. Sadly, that chick didn't make it.

We didn't know what to do with the other eggs but we didn't want to throw them out. He found one more egg that was chirping so he very carefully opened the egg. (We found out all the things we did wrong after the chick was "hatched" out.) Hubby said he saw the yolk sack. (Again, we know we did everything wrong here.) He also noted that the chick had started pipping through the first, and maybe, second membrane.

We don't have an incubator so we put the chick in some napkins under a heat lamp and watched it. The chick was alive but was not gaining strength.

I felt like the chick needed some moisture as I've read that incubators have some kind of humidity. He wet down some of the napkins and we created a space for the chick to be surrounded but not wet by the damp napkins.

We put the chick in our house (in box with heat lamp and damp napkins) and have checked it every hour. Not only is it still alive but it's actually trying to stand!

So my question is multi faceted. First, do I need to feed the chick? Second, how long should I keep it in humidity? Third, is there anything to look for as far as an umbilical cord, etc?

I can get pictures later as I just checked it. But I thought I would post now to see if I could get some help going.

Thanks in advance for any responses!! We really could use some help!

Is there still yolk left? If there is, no she doesn't need food or water, the yolk is all she needs for now and don't let her stand up or run around, she could rupture the yolk-
If the chick is fully hatched from the shell, then you dont need to worry about humidity anymore, and you dont want anything damp against the chick. Rather, putting them in a cup cushioned with dry paper towels while they absorb everything is fine. Do you have anything to measure the temp under the lamp with?

Did you throw out the other eggs/did you candle them to check they were deceased?
Yes, in future do not open the shell, rather give them a warm place to finish hatching.
A photo would definitely help!