Help.. No Egg Tooth, Having Trouble Hatching.. *** ITS OUT ***PICS..

[Chickie Mamma]

Hello, Its pretty sad actually. Out of 17 eggs, only 1 made it to hatching day. It made a nice hole about 24 hours ago. Beak is sticking out. There is no egg tooth and it has not made any progress in 24 hours. Its peeping like crazy and has energy. It cannot position itself, looks like wing is over its head. Should I intervene? If so, how much longer should I wait and how do I help without making the membrane bleed? Any help would be appreciated! Thanks

Look What I got!!
It was a long struggle, but he/she is here. Lonely, but she has a friend.

 

[onthespot]

I am one of those that can't keep my hands off, and have killed several chicks trying to "help" so take what I say with a bag of salt... but I would intervene. I would just barely stick a toothpick at a shallow angle and lift a flake or two of shell away from its face, partly to make sure it has good access to air, and partly to see if the membrane has pulled away from the shell or not. If it has, and the shell flakes off easy from the membrane, you are in a bad spot. If you take off the shell, the membrane will almost immediately shrink wrap the chick. If it bleeds at all, DO NOT help any more. You will kill it. Just make sure it has air, and then let it do or die. I would wait a full twenty four hours more before trying to help, once it has good access to air. You can dig one out of its shell, but you can't make it live. You can make it die though... hands off if you can stand it.

 

[Biddieacres]

good luck...so sorry to hear that....keep us posted

 

[Chickie Mamma]

Quote:
Thanks for the advice. I have helped some and lived, and have helped some and they died anyway. I have noticed that the membrane has separated from the shell. Its still trying sooo hard. I will wait longer before trying to help. It has plenty of air through the large hole. I'll keep updating. Thanks again..

 

[Chickie Mamma]

What sould my humidity be? Right now its about 80 percent. Is that too high? Would that be the problem??

 

[onthespot]

I can't see high humidity hurting, but I never heard of 80% before! I would back it down to sixty, sixty five at the highest, just because that is what everybody recommends. Did you see any veins or bleeding? If not, you could SLOWLY peel a bit of shell, and some of the outer membrane to see what is the state of the inner membrane. If you can see veins, esPECIALLY if they look red or reddish, stop and let it take the time it needs. It is not fully developed yet and not ready to hatch all the way.

 

[nnbreeder]

You can also use a drop of warm water on the outer membrane and it will become transparent.

 

[Chickie Mamma]

Thanks.. I am going to try to lower the humidity a bit. I thought the higher the better so the membrane does not dry out. Or do we want it to dry up a bit? I have hatched plenty, but never had one try so hard and not make any progress. I lost all the others due to a temp spike 3 days ago. (family member closed the door to the room the incubator is in, and it gets really hot in there) So I am shocked this little one survived. I think it was easier to give birth to my 3 kids than to watch this.

Thanks for the help.

 

[Akane]

The blood vessels will close off faster if the membrane is drying. I found the eggs were ready to hatch sooner and the chicks made progress faster if the membranes were slightly dryer instead of dripping wet. Especially the few I helped hatch. I wouldn't go any higher than 75% and I aim for 65%. Also if a pipped egg gets rolled so the pip is down with the humidity too high water that has collected in the egg can drown the chick. Pipped up it isn't so much of an issue because the beak is out in the air where it can breathe.

At this point I would probably be considering helping by breaking some of the shell (you can peel the shell from the membrane) in a line from the hole around the large end of the egg. If no blood is visible in the membrane you can start to break that but if you see blood stop and put it back.

 

[Chickie Mamma]

Quote:
Thanks... I got the humidity down to 65 % (opened a vent) It has a small part of the wing out. I think you are right about the membrane being easier to break through if it was a little drier. It almost looked like rubber as she pushes. Lets hope the lower humidity helps. I am really trying to avoid opening the bator. Thanks again..