Has anyone ever had a chick internally pip on day 18?

[T-R-O-U-B-L-E]

I have an egg that I just finished candling. It was completely dark and I believe I saw moving shadows in the air cell. This all points to internal pip. However it is day 18. These are Sebright/ Cochin or Sebright/ OEGB eggs. Could it really hatch this early?

 

[K0k0shka]

There's a lot of interpretation in candling, and therefore, room for error. It can be hard to tell what it is exactly that you're seeing. You might think it's a shadow inside the air cell, but it might just be right next to it instead. Or the chick could be pushing against the flexible membrane, but without having broken it yet. It could be a lot of things. Either way, nothing you can do about it at this point but wait and see. It's possible that it's pipping early (especially if temperature was on the high end), but it's also possible that you're misinterpreting what you're seeing.

 

[nuthatched]

Bantams do sometimes hatch early.

 

[T-R-O-U-B-L-E]

Yes I guess we will wait and see. It is so hard! I will update when he hatches. These eggs are an attempt at hatching some of Nuggets eggs. Nugget is a Golden Laced Sebright who was attacked by a hawk 18 days ago. I will make sure to update this thread.

 

[kmpcfp]

I had a little bantam egg hatch out on day 19, after internally pipping on day 18. His standard sized incubator-mates hatched on day 21.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Could it really hatch this early?

It can be a long time between internal pip and actual hatch. And it can be hard to determine exactly what is going on in there. The chick moving means it is alive, which is good, but I don't always see movement. Other than being glad it is alive at this point don't get too excited by what you see.

That 21 day thing for chicken eggs is just a target. Whether they are bantam of full sized fowl eggs, it is not that unusual for eggs to actually hatch (the chick zips and comes out) two days or even a few hours more early or late. There are a lot of different reasons for that: heredity, humidity, how and how long the egg was stored before incubation began, or just differences between eggs. A big factor can be the average incubating temperature. If it is warm they can be early, cool they can be late. But temperature is not the only factor, I regularly have chicks hatch a full two days early under a broody hen, not just in my incubator.

In my first incubator hatch I had a couple of chicks already in external pip when I put them in lockdown after 18 days of incubation. They were OK by the way, just early. After that hatch I calibrated my incubator and it was a little warm so I reset it. Most of mine still hatch early, whether incubator or a broody hen. I think heredity has a lot to do with that. Some people consistently have chicks that hatch late, the latest under a broody hen I've heard of from someone I trust to count the days right was 25 days.

Can eggs really hatch that early? Even if that egg is in internal pip (which it might not be) I would not consider it to be all that early, but yes they can.

 

[T-R-O-U-B-L-E]

It was an internal pip. When I woke up this morning there was an external pip. It has not started zipping yet.

 

[T-R-O-U-B-L-E]

Still the same but egg 1 pipped also.

 

[T-R-O-U-B-L-E]

Egg 1, now Nugget Jr., has hatched! I know this is a bad picture. Mom took it and sent it to me.

 

[T-R-O-U-B-L-E]

I will take her out in the morning. I have my brooder set up. This is not the best picture, it is better though.