Hatching Chick Help!

[tamcg]

I asked a question yesterday about baby chicks that I’ve been incubating, now I have another. So two days ago 2 out of 17 eggs we’ve been incubated hatched. Then 1 piped that night/next morning. Well, that same chick still hasn’t come out. It hasn’t moved from its spot or anything in 24 hours now. It has a hole that you can see the chick but it hasn’t moved. Since it’s been so long without any movement or improvement should I help it out of the shell or atleast peel a piece back so it doesn’t die or wait until the other chicks that have started to hatch finish? I’m sorry I’m new to incubating and don’t want to lose any of my chicks.

 

[SilverBirds]

I'd start investigating. Tap on the outside of the shell and see if you get a response. Gently pull away some some of the shell near the pip (stop if you see blood). If he starts chirping again apply a little coconut oil to the membrane and put him back in the incubator. If there is no movement or chirping he has died. You can either open the egg all the way up and see what happened or you can throw the egg away.

 

[tamcg]

I'd start investigating. Tap on the outside of the shell and see if you get a response. Gently pull away some some of the shell near the pip (stop if you see blood). If he starts chirping again apply a little coconut oil to the membrane and put him back in the incubator. If there is no movement or chirping he has died. You can either open the egg all the way up and see what happened or you can throw the egg away.

Unfortunately when I tried to pull it back the chick didn’t move and had passed away. None of my other chicks hatched out of 17. I’m on day 24 now. I only had 3 make it. I’m not sure what went wrong. I would assume temperature just because I realized after incubation that I should never rely on temp gauges with the incubator. Next time I’ll use an extra thermometer and humidity gauge to see if that helps. Sad day.

 

[SilverBirds]

Unfortunately when I tried to pull it back the chick didn’t move and had passed away. None of my other chicks hatched out of 17. I’m on day 24 now. I only had 3 make it. I’m not sure what went wrong. I would assume temperature just because I realized after incubation that I should never rely on temp gauges with the incubator. Next time I’ll use an extra thermometer and humidity gauge to see if that helps. Sad day.

So sorry you had a bad hatch. Did you candle and/or crack open the remaining eggs?

Always buy an extra calibrated hydrometer and thermometer for your incubator. The built in ones are almost always off and improper temps can quickly terminate eggs. Shipped eggs also have lower hatch rates from being jostled around too much. Hopefully your next hatch will be better.