Hatching day advice! Should the eggs be moving?

[lazy gardener]

You could even put a woven dish towel or some such down to cover the wire. I like to have some rubber waffle shelf liner over my wire at lock down.

 

[Lochloosachicks]

I have the bottom of my crappy bator under the mesh. Will it be okay to put a towel over that? It is somewhat keeping the air circulating. I wish I could put sponges under but I would have to completely remove eggs bc that thing is HARD to pull up.

 

[lazy gardener]

Do what ever works for YOU! Just because I do it a certain way (through trial and error) doesn't mean that you have to do it the same way.

The important thing is to look at your set up and be sure there is nothing in there that could injure your chicks when they hatch. One reader had an energetic chick climb on top of an egg, and scalp himself on the fan. I had a coffee cup with a handle on it, and had a chick dive through the handle while still attached to the bottom of the shell by the umbilical cord. I found him dangling by the cords. Luckily, he survived his bungee jumping experience. They are born with the desire to find new and novel ways to commit suicide. This tendency stays with them for life.

 

[Lochloosachicks]

How does this look? What potential hazards are there you can see? I moved them as gently as possible, they were chirping away!

 

[Lochloosachicks]

Oh my gosh!!! Someone had pipped!! I see egg shells in the water cup! I wish I had left it alone now.

 

[Lochloosachicks]

It's face is pointed down. I'm not sure if I did that. What should I do?

 

[lazy gardener]

You'll be fine. Did you have the bubble wrap before? My concern would be that they could get a head stuck under it. same rule applies to chicks as does with toddlers and newborns. Keep all possible causes of suffocation/drowning away from them. don't worry so much about the fact that a chick has pipped as you do what you must to create a safe environment. If you want to get humidity up quickly, a quick mist of bator walls with a squirt bottle will do the trick.

 

[Lochloosachicks]

Humidity is still fine. I'm just worried about the positioning that I may have put the egg in.

 

[WVduckchick]

Humidity is still fine. I'm just worried about the positioning that I may have put the egg in.

Do you think you turned it over when you took the sponges out or were you careful to leave the same side up as they were?

 

[Lochloosachicks]

I'm not sure. I tried to be, but I was trying to make it quick. Yes know that it was close to face down because I would have seen it otherwise. It's still chirping and I can see its beak.