Help, first time incubating...THANKS!

[IdasChickens]

Hi everyone! I'm on mobile, so super short;

I have a chick that just hatched in the incubator...Well, it hatched while I was sleeping ....And it crashed into all the other eggs, sending them rolling all over the place. Some were still pipping! And she is still crashing into them!

What do I do? Thanks so much!

Idaschickens

By the way...I'm sure this is a super common question, sorry. I just hadn't thought of it till now....in the meantime, I'm Googling. So far, it seems like this is normal? What about the orientation of the chicks that were pipping? Thanks again, everyone! I will keep googling...

 

[sumi]

Don't worry, they will be fine. My chicks do the same when they hatch and it hasn't caused any problems for the unhatched chicks.

 

[IdasChickens]

Thank you, sumi! I appreciate your prompt reply It is crazy in that incubator right now. Soooo tempting to open it and intervene....

Couple pips rolled next to the wall of the bator. They are still wiggling pretty good though. Maybe I will take a nap and wake up to more baby Rocks!

 

[PD-Riverman]

Thank you, sumi! I appreciate your prompt reply

It is crazy in that incubator right now. Soooo tempting to open it and intervene....

Couple pips rolled next to the wall of the bator. They are still wiggling pretty good though. Maybe I will take a nap and wake up to more baby Rocks!

Don't Let Temptation Take Over----Leave it Closed. I just took 80 chicks out of 81 eggs out the hatcher------Talk about eggs Rolling----LOL.

 

[sumi]

I know it's tempting, especially when the chick sees you and starts going nuts! But sit on your hands and let it dry off in there and give the others a chance to hatch. If the chick gets itself into trouble in there (it happens, I glanced at the incubator mid hatch the other day and just saw this little foot frantically waving...) you can open it quickly and rescue it, but unless it's necessary to intervene, keep the lid on and the humidity up. Keep up posted and pics please?

 

[IdasChickens]

Don't Let Temptation Take Over----Leave it Closed. I just took 80 chicks out of 81 eggs out the hatcher------Talk about eggs Rolling----LOL.

Oh my gosh! That's a ton of eggs! What kind are they?

 

[IdasChickens]

I know it's tempting, especially when the chick sees you and starts going nuts! But sit on your hands and let it dry off in there and give the others a chance to hatch. If the chick gets itself into trouble in there (it happens, I glanced at the incubator mid hatch the other day and just saw this little foot frantically waving...) you can open it quickly and rescue it, but unless it's necessary to intervene, keep the lid on and the humidity up. Keep up posted and pics please?

Well....I caved. The little one was going wild, cracking open eggs, knocking over thermometers...I was afraid it was either going to squash itself, or accidentally explode a dud egg. (I left all the eggs in because I just couldn't tell which ones were still alive.) Anyway, I have the humidifier going, and I added a bit of steamy water to the troughs when I had the lid open briefly.

There was/is one that has a large pip hole with his little beak sticking out. It took several hard rolls across the incubator when the other chick was in there. It has been trying to get out for several hours but doesn't seem to be getting anywhere. At what stage should I start to worry about whether it will actually make it? It doesn't appear to have shrink wrapped when I opened the lid.

Also, I have another with a piece of the shell missing but the membrane is still intact. I haven't seen it move....

The few others pipped last night, over 8 hours ago, and no progress has been made since. No movement, no chirping. Yesterday was day 21. And I'm pretty sure 90% were fertile and were developing.

I was doing good up until the end here, and I probably just made it worse by opening the lid

I think next time, I am going to try the modified egg carton holder for the eggs.

The one hatched chick seems a lot happier under the heat lamp. It is quiet now, and sleeping (except for when it sees me, of course!)

And I'll get some pics as soon as I get my coffee

 

[sumi]

I have a chick in the incubator right now that I pulled my broody's nest this morning, about 11 hours ago now. It pipped before I got to it, she got up with the chicks and left it. It was lukewarm by the time I found and moved it. It's fine though, I just heard it chirp LOUD

I've had pippies wait for 18 hours before they started zipping and hatching and I've had them pip, zip and hatch in what felt like 5 minutes at the time. Sometimes they are quick, but most of the time it seems they are in nooooo rush.

If they don't make progress for 24 hours I'd start to investigate, check if they need help, but they seldom do. A friend of mine put together a wonderful article on assisting and when and how to do it, if needed, with some pics to show what to look for: https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/step-by-step-guide-to-assisted-hatching

The chick that broke the shell, but it appears the membrane is intact? If you look very carefully you may see a little hole in the membrane. I've seen this too and examined the eggs and found they did break the membrane just enough. It can breathe in there and that is all they need to do right now. After pipping the chicks need to absorb the yolk sac, there are some graphic pics in the article that shows it. This process can take up to 24 hours, or more, so during this time they need time and oxygen and humidity, that's all. Don't worry about opening the lid a little while, you've done good upping the humidity again and they won't shrink wrap that quickly. But don't open it again, unless you have to.

 

[IdasChickens]

I have a chick in the incubator right now that I pulled my broody's nest this morning, about 11 hours ago now. It pipped before I got to it, she got up with the chicks and left it. It was lukewarm by the time I found and moved it. It's fine though, I just heard it chirp LOUD   I've had pippies wait for 18 hours before they started zipping and hatching and I've had them pip, zip and hatch in what felt like 5 minutes at the time. Sometimes they are quick, but most of the time it seems they are in nooooo rush. 

If they don't make progress for 24 hours I'd start to investigate, check if they need help, but they seldom do. A friend of mine put together a wonderful article on assisting and when and how to do it, if needed, with some pics to show what to look for: https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/step-by-step-guide-to-assisted-hatching

The chick that broke the shell, but it appears the membrane is intact? If you look very carefully you may see a little hole in the membrane. I've seen this too and examined the eggs and found they did break the membrane just enough. It can breathe in there and that is all they need to do right now. After pipping the chicks need to absorb the yolk sac, there are some graphic pics in the article that shows it. This process can take up to 24 hours, or more, so during this time they need time and oxygen and humidity, that's all. Don't worry about opening the lid a little while, you've done good upping the humidity again and they won't shrink wrap that quickly. But don't open it again, unless you have to.

Excellent! Since the time it took to send out the reply and now, four more that have been pipped...have started rocking and chirping! Yeah!

I solemnly swear that I will keep the lid closed for the rest of the day...unless it is an emergency.

Thanks again, Sumi and PD-Riverman! This is all so helpful and the support is awesome!!!

Forgot to ask...what are you hatching, Sumi? The one I hatched is a Barred Rock from our flock. The rest are BR rooster over Buff Rock, Speckled Sussex, and Buff Orp. I lost one of my favorite SS hens last week to a Redtail. The one that is currently trying to zip, is one of hers...I think. It looks like the big "pink" eggs she used to lay. It would be nice if it makes it.

 

[sumi]

You're welcome

We've all been first-timers once, I know how stressful it can be when you are so anxious for the hatch to go well. It sounds like yours is progessing VERY nicely now? I have a feeling I'm going to check in here tomorrow morning to an ecstatic report of lots of chicks hatched!

I'm hatching some not-pure RIR's eggs at the moment. After the first hatch they got demoted to "hatchery RIR" and after the second one they got close to mutts LOL I got the parents' eggs as "red chickens" from someone. They are lovely birds and they lay well, so no complaints