Hello everyone!
I had some issues with my hatch. Not severe ones, and I think I know what I did wrong, but I want to get some input. Please, please be gentle with me--this is my first real hatch and while I've read about everything, it's certainly a learning experience.
My first fourteen chicks hatched without a single problem. Five of my pips, however, zipped and then got stuck for well over twenty-four hours with no progress. Note they had been pipped for at least forty-eight hours, but seemed to have been stuck in one position without any progress for more than twenty-four hours. Last night, because I had read it's all right to remove chicks if you spray in the incubator as you're removing them to correct for the humidity lost, I moved the fourteen chicks to the brooder VERY quickly because they were causing all kinds of havoc in the incubator.
Today I got extremely worried, noticing the membranes of some of the zipped and stuck chicks were very strange-looking--paper-like and dark. I decided, very reluctantly mind you, to break them out instead of letting them die in there without being able to move. The humidity has been about 70-75% pretty consistently, though it did get down to 52% for just a few minutes. Was that what caused their membranes in their zipped eggs to seal--just those few minutes, even though the humidity went back up almost immediately?
Those peepers are a little out of it--have glue-y membrane on them a bit, and they're still kind of curled in a fetal position, but I'm hoping they'll correct themselves given a bit of time. Otherwise they seem all right, and mind you they had zipped on their own so it's not like they're just weaklings. It just seems like they got stuck when the membrane dried out on them and glued them in one place.
I have one duck egg left in the incubator that has pipped. Should I break him out, too? His pip is small and just occurred a few hours ago, so I feel like his membrane probably did not dry out like the chicks that had zipped (they only were dried out where the zips had taken place). I'm just trying to decide if I should let him hatch on his own (probably best...?) or just go on the offensive and break him out, too.
Anyway, any advice helping these chicks hopefully survive and what I should do about the duck egg would be much appreciated. I know this is long and kind of technical, but...please help!
I know, I know, I know you're not supposed to help chicks. I know--but I really didn't want to let these babies die. If they die later on, so be it, I would feel worse if I hadn't tried than if I do try and they don't make it.
I had some issues with my hatch. Not severe ones, and I think I know what I did wrong, but I want to get some input. Please, please be gentle with me--this is my first real hatch and while I've read about everything, it's certainly a learning experience.
My first fourteen chicks hatched without a single problem. Five of my pips, however, zipped and then got stuck for well over twenty-four hours with no progress. Note they had been pipped for at least forty-eight hours, but seemed to have been stuck in one position without any progress for more than twenty-four hours. Last night, because I had read it's all right to remove chicks if you spray in the incubator as you're removing them to correct for the humidity lost, I moved the fourteen chicks to the brooder VERY quickly because they were causing all kinds of havoc in the incubator.
Today I got extremely worried, noticing the membranes of some of the zipped and stuck chicks were very strange-looking--paper-like and dark. I decided, very reluctantly mind you, to break them out instead of letting them die in there without being able to move. The humidity has been about 70-75% pretty consistently, though it did get down to 52% for just a few minutes. Was that what caused their membranes in their zipped eggs to seal--just those few minutes, even though the humidity went back up almost immediately?
Those peepers are a little out of it--have glue-y membrane on them a bit, and they're still kind of curled in a fetal position, but I'm hoping they'll correct themselves given a bit of time. Otherwise they seem all right, and mind you they had zipped on their own so it's not like they're just weaklings. It just seems like they got stuck when the membrane dried out on them and glued them in one place.
I have one duck egg left in the incubator that has pipped. Should I break him out, too? His pip is small and just occurred a few hours ago, so I feel like his membrane probably did not dry out like the chicks that had zipped (they only were dried out where the zips had taken place). I'm just trying to decide if I should let him hatch on his own (probably best...?) or just go on the offensive and break him out, too.
Anyway, any advice helping these chicks hopefully survive and what I should do about the duck egg would be much appreciated. I know this is long and kind of technical, but...please help!
I know, I know, I know you're not supposed to help chicks. I know--but I really didn't want to let these babies die. If they die later on, so be it, I would feel worse if I hadn't tried than if I do try and they don't make it.
They just take longer. I also think you did the right thing.
