Help!!!Day 24, no chicks. Please read. Pic of chick!

[gitlost80]

No Problem. Wish I was there to help. It would be easier to show you than explain it. if you are taking the eggs out of the Bator, you really want to be in a humid bathroom with a hot shower running so its nice and steamy. They can Shrink wrap easily. you can save them if you help them, but some people suggest not too, but if they are already dying I say Why not try and help. I would poke a small hole in the shell of the peeping one and put it back in the Bator with high humidity.

 

[BigDaddy'sGurl]

Quote:
Yeah: what she said. Just be extra sure you poke a small hole at the AIR CELL end of the egg and see what's what. I always moisten paper towels and put them in my incubator with the egg lying on them when I worry that humidity is the issue...

 

[gitlost80]

I found this.It might be less confusing than my own personal directions. Pay very close attention to the directions. Maybe read them twice before attempting.#4 is the hardest part.So if you do decide to help,be patient, gentle and slow!




You can help a chick hatch. Helping a chicken's egg with hatching isn't too difficult and hatching your own eggs is ridiculously satisfying, but it is fraught with stress (for both you and the poultry!).

Helping a chick hatch must be done very carefully, and there are plenty of folks that believe that you shouldn't help at all. Under most circumstances that's sound advice. The chicks know what to do. If a chick is having trouble hatching, there may be a reason for it and natural selection is doing it's thing. You may end up with a chick that is still too weak to survive or is disabled in some way. Chicks should hatch on their own when they are ready, and we might think we're "helping" when in fact the chick was just not ready (or meant) to come out yet. This is the very root of "don't count your Chickens before they're hatched."

With all that said, there are times when you don't have an alternative and letting a chick die in the shell is not the best option. It may be that the humidity in the incubator is too low and the chick is having trouble breaking through. That is not the fault of the chick, genetics, or a result of natural selection, but instead the difficulty we sometimes encounter trying to maintain the perfect incubating environment. If that's the case, there should be no qualms about helping a chick to hatch. Helping animals into the world can be one of the proudest things you ever do.
Difficulty: Moderate
Instructions
Things You'll Need:

* Toothpick or needle

1.
1
the label from our forced air incubator from Little Giant advised to keep at a constant 99.5
the label from our forced air incubator from Little Giant advised to keep at a constant 99.5

Keep the temperature up. Up to now, the eggs have been incubating at a set temperature and you should work quickly and carefully to ensure that the egg (and it's cargo) stays at as close to the ideal temperature as possible (this temperature is determined by the type of egg you're incubating and the type of incubators you are using).
2.
2

Determine if the chick is alive and breathing air. The chick should have punctured a hole through the inner membrane and into the air cavity within the egg and now be breathing on its own. You likely will have heard the chick 'peeping' in there. Quick candling of the egg will determine if there is movement in the egg and usually 'wakes the chick up' enough for it to peep a you. A peeping chick is a very good sign and the strength of the peeping can help indicate the strength of the chick and whether or not you should help the chick hatch. If candling of the egg results in a nice strong peep and very discernible movement, you should put it back and continue to let the egg hatch on its own. This is a good time to practice your Jedi skills by seeing if you can get the egg to hatch on its own by staring intently at it for hours on end.... It doesn't usually work, but the Force might be stronger in your family than mine.
3.
3
A pipping egg. Here the chick has managed to clear a hole. Often it will just be a 'dent' to begin.
A pipping egg. Here the chick has managed to clear a hole. Often it will just be a 'dent' to begin.

Check to see if there is any pipping to the egg. There should be a small section of the egg where the chick has tried to chip its way out. A chick should have at least begun pipping before you give in to the temptation to help. Pipping can take a lot out of a chick and it's not unusual for a chick to take a break.
Allow time to pass after pipping has begun. It can take as long as 24 hours from pipping to hatching, so don't fret until a significant amount of time has passed (at least 10-12 hours). It may be that significant time has passed and the peeping from inside the egg is getting progressively weaker. By this point, the chick should have begun working it's way around, chipping away at the shell, but if the humidity is too low, the chick may already be encountering difficulty and it is time to determine if you need to help the chick hatch.
4.
4

The shell of an incubating egg has 3 layers. The outer shell (what we normally think of as the shell), an inner membrane of rubbery material (if you've peeled a hard boiled egg, you've probably noticed this membrane), and a last inner layer which carries the chicks blood supply. When a chick begins chipping its way around the egg from the inside, it punctures these inner membranes (and hopefully the outer shell). When the innermost layer is punctured, it tells the chick's body to reduce the blood circulation in the membrane. Each subsequent spot that the chick punctures from the inside further reduces the blood flow. You have to be careful while helping a chick out of its shell because if the blood is still flowing within the membrane, the chick can bleed to death. If the inner membranes dry out, they becomes tough and will inhibit the chick from working.
5.
5

Remove small bits of the outer shell around where the pipping occurred. They should come off pretty easily. This is best done with a toothpick or the blunt end of a sewing needle. You must be very careful that you aren't tearing the inner membrane while doing this. Despite your caution, you will probably encounter some blood that starts to flow when the membrane is inadvertently torn. When this happens: put the egg back immediately and take a 15 minute break. You need to give the egg time for the blood to stop flowing. You'll probably feel a little queasiness and a lot of guilt! Keep in mind that you are basically doing from the outside, what the chick would be doing from the inside if it could.
6.
6

Gently tear the membrane where you have removed the bits of shell. Slowly work your way around the egg, starting where the pipping began. You will be dividing the egg in half. Think of what the chick would be doing if it could. It would slowly work it's way around, chipping through the eggshell (and in the process the inner membranes). It would pause to rest frequently, for you this means: go slow! It would take hours and hours for an egg to hatch by itself, so don't rush it. You may notice that the membrane is stuck to the chick in places, this is an indication of low humidity and may be why the chick was having difficulty in the first place. Unless the membrane is interfering with the chick in some way (like covering its beak) you should leave it alone for now. There will be time to remove it later. You will probably find yourself thinking, "Ok, that's enough, I'll let the chick do the rest on its own." Only to begin helping the chick hatch again a little while later. It is not a bad idea to let the chick do it on its own as much as possible.
7.
7
This chick can do the rest on it's own...
This chick can do the rest on it's own...

Stop when you either determine that the chick can make it the rest of the way on its own or when you have removed half the shell and membrane. Don't pull the chick out of the shell! The chick may not have fully absorbed the yolk into its navel or blood may still be flowing and you want to be sure not to tear at itt. If it can, let the chick do it on its own. If it becomes obvious that the chick cannot make it out of the shell, you can remove bits of the shell, just a little at a time to be sure that you don't inadvertently pull to much away at once. If some of the shell or membrane is interfering with the chicks wing or leg movement, gently remove it. You may have to moisten it lightly for it to come off. You just want to be sure that as they 'firm up' they are able to stretch themselves and move around.
8.
8
Free at last!
Free at last!

Place the chick and whatever portion of shell that may still present back into your incubator to keep warm. You have done everything you can to give it a fighting chance; At this point, there really isn't any more you can do to help. The chick doesn't need to eat or drink for at least it's first 24-48 hours. The chick will be exhausted from all the effort and you probably will be too. It's time for both of you to take a nap.


Read more: How to Help a Chicken's Egg Hatch | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/how_4747068_help-chickens-egg-hatch.html#ixzz1EdToBlYn

 

[glenda in ms]

Thank you, thank you! That was the toughest two egg shells I have ever tried to aput a pin through, Putting in wet paper towels now!

 

[gitlost80]

Are they both peeping now? Can you see them? I usually make a pea sized hole, make sure its not too close to where the chick is, make it far enough over on the air cell side so it doesnt tear anything. I will be staying on this thread to try and help.

 

[glenda in ms]

I peeping loudly, the other faitly. The one peeping loudly has a thick white wrinckled membrane around it. Can't see head, so I know it is lower.

 

[glenda in ms]

will keep reporting

 

[gitlost80]

Is the membrane soft and pliable or is it stuck to baby? There is an outter white membrane,then a clear one under that...Carefully open a piece of the white membrane, unless it is sucked to baby...

 

[gitlost80]

Is there any possible way you can take a quick picture and upload it?!

 

[Gypsy07]

You've got your terminology pretty much right. Breaking through the membrane into the air sac is INTERNAL pipping.
Technically, when the chick pecks a hole in the shell this is EXTERNAL pippping, but most people just say 'pipping'.
Good luck with the rest of your chicks! I'm strictly non-interventionist with mine, so I can't offer any advice, but good luck to you!