Hatching time!-Need advice

[Ducklvr]

Okay, so here's the deal. I'm brand new at this. (You may remember that I had an egg explode awhile back, 11 of the other eggs are still going strong though, thanks to a quick disinfecting of the 'bator)
I had dated them all, but (newbie mistake, I know) haven't been marking the air cell. I now have one pipped, I was turning and then one had a crack in it, when I picked it up (it's older, so I thought surely I had somehow cracked it....) it peeped. Do you think I've killed it by turning it the last few days? By the date I wasn't expecting it to hatch...

During the last candling, I saw one egg had a large dip in the air cell, what is that and what do I do about it?

I'm all flustered now, and I'm not sure if I've killed them all!

I will say that these eggs are nothing special at all, mostly backyard mutts. I was doing the hatching for fun, but it's turning out to be much more a bit more stressful than fun at this point.

 

[Aphrael]

No you haven't killed it. Just stop turning it now and up your humidity for it to hatch. When you say a large dip, do you mean the air cell comes down farther on one side than the other side? If so, then this is normal, and when you place them for hatching, that lower part should be placed upward as that is the most likely place for the chick to pip in.

 

[Ducklvr]

@Aphrael Thanks for the reassurance. I guess I just have "first time hatcher jitters". I've already upped the humidity in preparation for hatching that was supposed to be in a few days. That's exactly what I meant about the air cell, I'll reposition now to hopefully help the lil' guy.

 

[Ducklvr]

Is it normal for the little chicken not to have done anything else (except pip another hole..) for 12 hours now? I can hear him peeping still (from outside the incubator). I can see part of the membrane, and it looks white. Not clearish, or tan, or yellow. I heard if it looked tan, the chick may need help, but not before then. I'm chill with letting it do it's thing, but not if it's going to die.

 

[Ducklvr]

Alright so now I need help! The little guy is the only one that has pipped or anything and he's been pipped for about 17 hours now. I had been running the humidity high for a couple days prior to seeing any pipping.
However, his membrane is so dry! It's rather dark and leathery looking. I very gently chipped off about a nickel sized spot of shell, being careful not to disturb the membrane, but I'm not really sure how to tell if the membrane has veins in it or not. It looks tan in the spot he had pipped and a darker color under the surrounding shell.

Should I give him more time?

 

[WrapChick]

I'm just jumping in for moral support because I'm clueless too and in day 21 today of my very first ever hatch! I hear chirping but see no pips.

Good luck!

 

[Ducklvr]

@WrapChick Thanks! It means a lot. I'm just completely scared that he's not going to make it. I hear peeping every 5 minutes or so, so he's still going pretty strong, I'm just thinking that I need to help him get through that tough, tough membrane but I'm not sure if that's the best thing or not...

 

[Aphrael]

How long has it been since he pipped the second hole? Because that sounds like he is working on zipping. If he still seems strong I'd give him a little more time. The struggle to turn and zip and push out really does make them stronger. Does it appear that he is "chomping" at the edges of the shell with his beak? That is how they normally zip once they have a hole. But, I have seen some who just knock out pip holes all around in a circle, like a dotted line around the egg.

 

[WrapChick]

@WrapChick Thanks! It means a lot. I'm just completely scared that he's not going to make it. I hear peeping every 5 minutes or so, so he's still going pretty strong, I'm just thinking that I need to help him get through that tough, tough membrane but I'm not sure if that's the best thing or not...

I can just imagine your stress! I'm worried that I will have those type of issues and not know what to do either. I'm also having trouble getting my humidy above 57-58 so that worries me too.

Good luck! I'm following along and hoping it all goes well for you!

 

[Ducklvr]

@WrapChick Hopefully someone with some experience gets in here soon to help me out! I've been rewetting his membrane with a warm damp towel, just to see if that helps until I get an expert opinion.
Thanks for the support though!

@Aphrael He pipped the first hole yesterday afternoon. Second hole was there this morning. The chunk of shell fell of between the two holes, giving me a good view of the membrane. He's mostly just sitting, I see his little beak going in and out of the small hole in the membrane occasionally and he peeps every 4-5 minutes or so, there has been no attempt made by him to make his hole larger. The membrane is very tan looking. As I said above, I've been dampening the part I can see, because it looks so dry.