HELP! Its day 25 and no pipping

[Mama7]

Its been 25 days and there is no pipping but I have noticed movement in the egg with candling. Should I just wait through the night to see if it hatches? Or is there something else I can do? Also we water candled as well and it sank but the chick is alive. We can see movement with the flashlight candling.

 

[dorpersheep]

If you are sure the embryo is still alive there is not much you can do except wait for them to make the first move - I am not sure you can actually start the pipping? Maybe someone else with more experience will have more idea but for mine I don't help if they don't at least start to hatch on their own. Day 25 is getting a bit late though - have your temps been very low or are you hatching something that takes longer?

 

[Mama7]

My temps have been right at 100 and 101 and it is a chicken egg.

 

[AmyLynn2374]

My temps have been right at 100 and 101 and it is a chicken egg.

What kind of incubator are you using and have your thermometers ever been checked for accuracy?

 

[Mama7]

I am using a styrofoam incubator-Little Giant and no they have not been checked but are new. The chick is still alive in there today the 26th day. WE are praying for a miracle.

 

[AmyLynn2374]

I am using a styrofoam incubator-Little Giant and no they have not been checked but are new. The chick is still alive in there today the 26th day. WE are praying for a miracle.

Is it a still air incubator? (Still air incubators should be ran 101-102 degrees- taken near the tops of the eggs instead of the 99.5 degrees that forceed air run.) Don't let it being new fool you into thinking it's accurate. My first hatch I bought a brand new thermometer and didn't check because I thought it was accurate. (One of the springfield models w/hygrometer) I ended up with one hatcher at day 24 and one day 25. The day 25 hatcher died in the night. When I checked that thermometer against 3 others I found it to be 6 degrees off...yes, brand new, and 6 degrees off. I now use three thermometers and will never use just one. If I have to get away with two I will as long as they are checked or at least reading the same.

 

[Mama7]

Interesting. How do you get them checked? Just get three and compare or what?

 

[AmyLynn2374]

Interesting. How do you get them checked? Just get three and compare or what?

One way is to check a regular glass thermometer by taking a glass of ice and adding ice water, waiting 2-3 minutes for it to all come to temp and placing the glass thermometer in it. It should read 32F. If it does you know it's accurate and you check the other thermometers against that one by placing them all in the bator side by side and see if there are any main differences in temps.
Of course if you have three that are all reading the same or w/in .5 degrees then (I say, not that everyone will agree...lol) that it's a safe bet that they are accurite. The probability of three (different makes) of thermometers all being off by the same degrees is low.

 

[samantha88]

I have a little giant as well. My first hatch was only 30% successful. I have since been about to get 60-80% success. It's important to calibrate your equipment. Even if it's new, it's unlikely it's spot on. Read http://exoticpets.about.com/od/herpresources/ss/hygrometer_2.htm#step-heading to learn how to calibrate a hygrometer. I kept my temps 102 and had much more success than 99.5

 

[WVduckchick]

First the easy thing... Are you sure its day 25? First 24 hours is day 0, not day 1. Easiest way to remember is the day of the week set should be the same day of the week hatch. I apologize if you already know this, but its one area of confusion, so just to clarify for sure.
How do your air cells look?

If you can definitely still see movement, check out this thread.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/step-by-step-guide-to-assisted-hatching
You can help if you want and think its necessary.

Usually temps too low or humidity too high can delay hatching.

Good luck! Keep us posted.