Hatching help needed

[Whitney123]

My son is showing chickens at the fair this week. One hen from his breeding pen has been sitting on eggs. We candled them Tuesday before we brought her and one egg was pipped internally. We brought her nest and got her settled but when we came back in the morning she was off her nest. We brought the eggs home today. The chick was still alive but hadn't pipped externally. I made an air hole and peeled the shell a bit. The membrane is very dry but i oiled it and it still has a little blood in the veins. Am I on the right track here? Should we just give it time now? Poor thing has been stuck and cold for 2 days.

 

[Patiocoturnix]

My son is showing chickens at the fair this week. One hen from his breeding pen has been sitting on eggs. We candled them Tuesday before we brought her and one egg was pipped internally. We brought her nest and got her settled but when we came back in the morning she was off her nest. We brought the eggs home today. The chick was still alive but hadn't pipped externally. I made an air hole and peeled the shell a bit. The membrane is very dry but i oiled it and it still has a little blood in the veins. Am I on the right track here? Should we just give it time now? Poor thing has been stuck and cold for 2 days.

Is he moving around at all? How long has he been piped? Has the blood gone away any since you found him?

 

[Whitney123]

Is he moving around at all? How long has he been piped? Has the blood gone away any since you found him?

Yes he's moving and chirping. Seems to be breathing kind of heavy. It's been about 2 hours since I opened the egg and he hasn't moved the membrane or shell at all. He was internally pipped for 2 days before I opened it. There may be a bit less blood in the veins than earlier. The membrane was solid white under the shell. We didn't see mama sit on the eggs at all yesterday so I assumed it would be dead when we brought it home today and was amazed he was still alive.

 

[Patiocoturnix]

Yes he's moving and chirping. Seems to be breathing kind of heavy. It's been about 2 hours since I opened the egg and he hasn't moved the membrane or shell at all. He was internally pipped for 2 days before I opened it. There may be a bit less blood in the veins than earlier. The membrane was solid white under the shell. We didn't see mama sit on the eggs at all yesterday so I assumed it would be dead when we brought it home today and was amazed he was still alive.

Ok I would leave it until most of the veins are gone and if he doesn’t externally pip by then I would slowly help him out make sure to keep the membrane moist if it’s not in a incubator are you able to get a humidifier to up the humidity in the room so the membrane doesn’t dry out as much?

 

[jjaazzy]

I would crack a tiny bit of egg shell see if you see blood if you don't move forward. I have never used oil but wonder if that is what slowed the process. If you don't see blood and can move forward and the chick is shrink wrapped. What I do then is go to the kitchen sink get a tepid small stream of water and start chipping off the shell while under the stream then I pretty aggressively remove all the white velum and gunk. Here I increase the volume of water and clean good. then pat dry in paper towels removing all the water you can then I put them back in the incubator for a warm place to dry out. To me it sounds like the chick is exhausted because things did not move along in a timely manner you might have to supplement with some sugar water or Gatorade. I have not had to do that but from what you describe keep that in your toolbox. Good luck..

 

[Whitney123]

Ok I would leave it until most of the veins are gone and if he doesn’t externally pip by then I would slowly help him out make sure to keep the membrane moist if it’s not in a incubator are you able to get a humidifier to up the humidity in the room so the membrane doesn’t dry out as much?

I don't have an incubator so I'll try to find our old humidifier. Is this still looking not ready? I removed a tiny bit more shell to check the veins. We have to leave for the fair again and will be gone for a bit.

 

[Whitney123]

Here's the pic

 

[Whitney123]

I would crack a tiny bit of egg shell see if you see blood if you don't move forward. I have never used oil but wonder if that is what slowed the process. If you don't see blood and can move forward and the chick is shrink wrapped. What I do then is go to the kitchen sink get a tepid small stream of water and start chipping off the shell while under the stream then I pretty aggressively remove all the white velum and gunk. Here I increase the volume of water and clean good. then pat dry in paper towels removing all the water you can then I put them back in the incubator for a warm place to dry out. To me it sounds like the chick is exhausted because things did not move along in a timely manner you might have to supplement with some sugar water or Gatorade. I have not had to do that but from what you describe keep that in your toolbox. Good luck..

I've always read to use oil. I'll have sugar water ready, good idea!

 

[Patiocoturnix]

Here's the pic

Id say it looks about ready give him until you get home from the fair then peel some of the membrane off

 

[Yardmom]

Is the egg where it is about 99°F?
If the membrane appears to be stuck to the chick or has turned hard, food grade oil can be very helpful in getting it off.
My way of determining if a chick is ready to come out of the egg is if the beak is no longer opening and closing as it absorbs the yolk. This can be referred to as yawning or chewing. If that is happening the chick is not ready. If the chick is not warm enough I'm not sure how the process would go.