help....

[bangor777]

A question for all you experienced hatchers. As you know, I've been nervously watching these eggs for days (totally neurotic over them

) i have one egg that's been peeping since 5 am this morning. Today is day 22. All day long it has wiggled and rocked, peeping loudly at times. Well, earlier tonight it was still peeping, but much more softly. no pip. I'm worried the poor thing is exhausted in there. No peeping or movement since 5 pm. Do you ever pip the egg for them? If so when. I don't want to do anything at this point, but if it's still not changed in the morning should I intervene? If so, how do you go about it?

I don't think I'm cut out for this hatching stuff...I'm a delivery room nurse, guess I can't stand to sit and watch

sitting on my hands for now....thanks for listening!

 

[TheKidAndDame]

Maybe you should just start some pit!

 

[arlee453]

Gee...that's a hard call to make....

I'd only intervene if you know your humidity levels were too dry or something like that - ie the bator has been opened and shut a lot of times, etc. AND the hatch is mostly over and this is the last egg or two.

What I would do if you decide to intervene is just to take a small awl or jeweler's screwdriver and poke a very small hole in the air cell end of the egg. That will ensure that the baby doesn't run out of air in the air cell.

But once you open the bator to do that, you may be throwing off the rest of the hatch, and your interference may or may not even be needed, or help the chick you are concerned about in the first place... just my 2C.

 

[TheKidAndDame]

Seriously though, I completely agree with the above. Good advice.

 

[bangor777]

Thanks guys for your quick replies. The chick was actually sounding so loud earlier today...and the egg was rocking for spans of 15 minutes or more at a time....I think the poor thing tuckered out (or has something wrong with it) It's either getting some much needed rest or it didn't make it. I'll wait till morning and then see what's up. I finally figured out why my hatch might be late....I completely forgot we had a power outage a while back that dropped my temps pretty significantly. All of Bangor hydro was out for hours. I moved the bator to a battery backup source but the temp had dropped fairly low. i still have 8 eggs rocking, 2 pipped, so I'm lucky to have made it this far. i'll keep you updated. Thanks again.

 

[TheKidAndDame]

I just had one hatch this morning that I felt was talking forever. I was getting nervous but I was able to restrain myself from interviening. As they say a watched pot never boils and the little chick must have gotten a second wind. It ended up hatching about 30 hrs after the initial pip.

 

[swtangel321]

This is how I see it, a chick can pip and take any where from 5 min to 1 1/2 days. Some pip and come right out others like to make us metal and wait and wait in till the decide to come out. When a chick pips it then takes a long rest so it can absorbed the rest of the yolk sac. I would make sure that it has been AT LEAST 24 hrs in till you help, I would give him a little more time, as long as you can hear him/her, I have had chicks the chirp chirp chirp and then sleep sleep sleep, is there a little hole where the chick is getting air ? also what were your temps and hum day 1-18


If you help to early the yolk wont be absorbed and that will cause problems, if you do decided to help, help slow !!! Take a little at a time and then put back in the bator for a little while, repeat intill out !! Sometimes if you help a little they will get out on there own, most of the time the more you help the more they need help !!!

 

[bangor777]

Thanks, temp and humidity have been great. The little one hasn't pipped....just peeped and rocked for the last 16 hours. I've actually already decided, if it's meant to be it will be, I'm not going to intervene. thank you for all the help, wish me luck!

 

[swtangel321]

Good luck, keep us updated please !!!!

 

[muffi]

I have found that shipped eggs can vary widely in the amount of moisture lost prior to arrival. One egg that had a much larger air cell (meaning it had obviously lost more moisture than the others) did not pip by late day 21. I was concerned that it might be too dry, so I decided to intervene. I was glad I did. The little chick was hopeless glued to its shell. He was sticky for days after, and thus became known as Sticky. It's always a judgment call about whether to intervene. Just thought I'd share my experience in case it might help.