Help how long can the chicks sit in the incubator and other concerns?

[nyice]

today is day 21

The first chick hatched on monday morning (9AM), we have about 1/2 (9 out of 18 set with 3 that are working on it) running around playing soccer with everyone else.
At what time do we call it quits (or I guess, how long can they stay waiting for everyone else?)

The other problem is one has a toe hanging out of the hole in the shell all day (about 12 hours now) but has not progressed any further, and another zipped but the egg is still holding together since we woke up this morning, do they run out of steam and quit (both still move but stopped hatching)

We are hatching EE's and silkies, with only 2 out of 8 silkies hatch so far, do silkies take longer or do their egg size become a factor?

We have been doing so good, now starting to second guess ourselves.
Thank you

 

[rebelcowboysnb]

Quote:

 

[debilorrah]

Ditto what Mr. Rebel Dude said.

 

[nyice]

Thank you, I feel so much better. The next hatch we will be pro's, we seemed to have hit all the snags in this one.

It is really disturbing the ruckus the already hatched cause (We were so gentle and carefull, they are bowling)
With the drama we had at lock-down (temp spike, followed by 85% humidity an hour later at 2AM, I thought we lost 'em)

 

[Enchanted Sunrise Farms]

i tend to leave chicks in the bator no longer than 24 hours. i pull them out sooner, preferably in groups of two, once they have dried off a bit. You don't want to pull out any really wet chicks, as they can get chilled and die. Generally, if it has been 24 hours since other eggs have hatched and i see no progress on any other eggs, i will take them out, one by one, tap on the large end with my finger nail and chirp. If there is a live chick inside, it will chirp back. That being said, i will go ahead and leave eggs in the bator up until day 25, just to give them every chance.

On your two hatching issues, i would be concerned about a chick that has totally zipped but has not come out. My experience has been that once they fully zip, they are generally ready to come out - such as, the yolk sac is absorbed and everything is a go. If you see the membrane is white and dried, that may indicate the chick is not able to break through. Those membranes get pretty tough once they dry. In that case, i would help the chick out.

Also, with the chick with the foot hanging out, not sure i have seen that before. If something is hanging out the hole, it should be the beak. Again, in that case, i would be tempted to help out. Bear in mind, you want to be careful in helping a chick out, as sometimes you can do more harm than good. There is a sticky at the top of this topic that addresses this issue.

How are things going?

 

[nyice]

Quote:
I thought if you did this, you "shrink-wrap" everyone else who has not hatched. I don't want my impatience to harm the chicks who might make it.
We would really like some more silkies, and that is pretty much what is left to hatch

 

[nyice]

I should add:

I am using an LG still air - will install a fan when these are out, but otherwise only had problems when I could not leave it alone.

Thank you for all the help, more people have helped me than you will ever know - I am glued to the search button and have been lurking for weeks, it is prbably a type of OCD

 

[beckymom3]

Ya know, I've been watching my eggs all day, literally about 13 hrs, and the ones that were zipping at 10 a.m. are still working to get out. They are fully zipped and wiggling and rolling like crazy, seem to be doing a marathon with continued energy steadily working on that egg, but not collapsing in exhaustion. I do not feel inclined to "help" them out, is that wrong? The membranes are white, there's no blood and just a bit of moisture inside, but they seem strong and vigorous. Humidity is 70%. I just feel I'm going to go to bed and wake up and have some more fuzzy butts running around to join the one baby who's been all alone in there trying to convince the others to come on out! It's just my second hatch, so I'm still insecure enough to wonder if these guys are at risk or well on the road to a normal hatch. Egads!

 

[Enchanted Sunrise Farms]

nyice - If you are using a still air incubator, yes, probably best to wait it out. If you have a fan, it tends to bring things back up to temp and humidity quicker.

Knowing when to help out is really a matter of using your gut and experience. And then even with experience, you can make bad calls and help out too soon. i think it can help to have live chicks in the bator peeping, it seems to encourage the ones in the shell to try harder - or at least i think so.

i recently hatched some Porcelain D'Uccles. First chick out went right over to an egg that was zipping and cuddled up to it. It even helped peck around the shell to get her sister (or brother) out. It was kinda cute.

Hope you had a good hatch!