help needed

[Kurczaklover]

the baby is hatched!!!

Congratulations!

 

[Buckeye Amy]

Hurray!

 

[Debbie292d]

the baby is hatched!!!

Congratulations!!

Did you end up having to help more or did it get out of there itself?

It's going to be a cutie!

 

[ChibaPet]

Our third chicken yesterday started getting shrinkwrapped. She was the second to get her beak out but then she got stuck. We tried a little coconut oil on the exposed membrane but it seemed not to help. We gave her some time and came back, and even at 70% humidity her membrane was clearly tight all around her, but she'd stopped chewing so we figured she was done absorbing, and indeed she was. I think she was impacted by the shrinkwrapping so we ended up helping her out all the way, and today she's fluffy and beautiful and moving around the brooder with her sisters.

 

[cj2024]

heres another picture

By the way, do you know why you are not supposed to open the incubator during lock down and why they call it lock down?

 

[ChibaPet]

By the way, do you know why you are not supposed to open the incubator during lock down and why they call it lock down?

Unlike when a mother hen does it, the machine won't know that an egg is starting to hatch, and either a hatching egg or a hatched chicken could be badly damaged by the egg turner. Also, the humidity drops *fast* when the incubator is opened, which can dry out exposed membrane.

 

[Debbie292d]

By the way, do you know why you are not supposed to open the incubator during lock down and why they call it lock down?

Lockdown is when the turning stops and humidity is jacked up to 70%. Most do this on Day 18. Someone came up with the term lockdown centuries ago I suppose to designate the time when we do this and don't open the incubator.

I do lockdown on Day 16 or 17 as with silkies, I've had early pippers. The earliest hatched chick I've had was Day 18, and the longest Day 23. I've hatched over 500 silkies this year alone, and not one that early this year. Many of these pip on Day 19, and hatching almost always starts on Day 20.

I usually try to ignore mine in lockdown. It's nice when they all hatch and no eggs are left, and you can just take the lid off without worrying about it. Otherwise, if I see an egg or two in there, I just leave it alone for several hours. Then, if they aren't pipped by the end of Day 21 or Day 22, but the chicks are ready to come out, I'll take the chicks out and candle those remaining eggs.