Hatching Emergency--Is this chick alive?!

[SpinChicky]

Update:

It has been about 20 hours since water candling Little Peepers. Nothing new so far. I find myself impatient to see if this little guy will hatch! The egg is a bantam calico Cochin, and it's a very heavy egg.

I'm refraining from handling it, but I'm concerned it might not have been right side up when I put it back in the box (it moved a lot in the water, and I wasn't sure which side should go up--I'm learning some practical lessons this time around). If the wide end of the egg is pretty much off the ground, should the chicken be able to get out?

Thanks!

 

[Neezers Farm]

Update: 

It has been about 20 hours since water candling Little Peepers.  Nothing new so far.  I find myself impatient to see if this little guy will hatch!  The egg is a bantam calico Cochin, and it's a very heavy egg.  

I'm refraining from handling it, but I'm concerned it might not have been right side up when I put it back in the box (it moved a lot in the water, and I wasn't sure which side should go up--I'm learning some practical lessons this time around).  If the wide end of the egg is pretty much off the ground, should the chicken be able to get out?  

Thanks!

I've seen chicks hatch that started pipping on the underside of the egg and seen some that were rolled over by other chicks and they hatched fine. I would remove the wet paper towels and make sure the egg has plenty of air. I am fairly new at this, too. Good luck.

 

[FridayYet]

I usually place the eggs with the bottom of the air cell slope toward the ceiling. Hope that makes sense!

 

[SpinChicky]

Yes (I think); thank you!

 

[Neezers Farm]

Has anything happened with Little Peepers?

Yes (I think); thank you!

 

[SpinChicky]

Not yet @Neezers Farm ! Thank you for asking. I'm going to water candle again this afternoon.

 

[SpinChicky]

@Neezers Farm and @FridayYet I have a final update. We water candled the last remaining egg today, and it floated high in the water with no movement, so Little Peepers didn't make it.

I tried a small pipping at the end, just in case it needed help (always optimistic over here), and the egg shattered like it had a strong internal force (like perhaps gas had started to build up), and there was a distinct scent. I conducted an eggtopsy--the chick was very small, with a yolk sack that hadn't begun to absorb. The chick looked slightly deformed, but it's hard to tell, since I haven't seen many.

Thank you so much for your helpful advice and encouragement. I'm determined to have a successful hatch in the future, and now that I've seen the hen method, I think I'll invest in an incubator (until I have a hen with better mothering instincts!).

Again, thank you for walking me through this difficult--but educational--experience.

 

[FridayYet]

Well you really gave it a good try, and like you said, you learned a lot. Hoping you have a much better hatching experience next time!

And thank you for following up. Always nice to know what happened.

 

[Neezers Farm]

Sorry Little Peepers didn't make it

Thanks for following up with the outcome. Hope your future hatches go well.