I have started this thread because I know there are many, many threads about helping chicks to hatch and when to do it. I think there is a time and a place to aid a hatch.
If the eggs are with the mother Hen, then nature must do it's part. I know it's terribly exciting and you will be worrying about the chicks that haven't hatched yet, but you must leave them. The eggs in this instance have been turned the appropriate amount of times and they have been stored at the correct humidity and temperature. This means that the eggs have had the best start and usually, if they don't hatch - then they weren't meant to. This means they could have deformities (like a chick I helped out of the egg, it had it's brain on the outside of it's skull and had 'crooked beak'. It died straight away. If it didn't die, I suspect I would have had to cull it. Which I have never ever done in my life. I'd have preferred it to die naturally in the egg, for my conscience's sake at least.)
Now, I am confident that if you are manually hatching eggs in an incubator, you can aid a hatch - only if absolutely necessary!
Eggs that have been incubated by us Humans haven't (usually) been turned the correct amount of times in a day, haven't been turned in the correct direction, haven't been kept at the absolute correct humidity and haven't been kept at the correct and stable temperature. Humidity must be raised before a hatch, lockdown must occur, etc. There are just too many factors to go wrong when hatching eggs yourself. This means chicks get stuck in eggs, membranes become sticky, temperature fluctuations make hatching early or late.
Again, I would only advise intervening last minute when you KNOW for SURE that something is wrong. This will take knowledge about the subject, and learning from previous mistakes.
For example, I helped my first egg to hatch. It hadn't pipped, I was just eager and didn't realise the implications of helping out. The chick was fine, by the way. Although it had curled toes and unabsorbed yolk sac. I immediately started feeding it sugared water to boost it up - as it didn't have energy as the yolk sac was unabsorbed- and although it took a hell of a lot of dedication, it survived although was smaller than other chicks. Here, I shouldn't have helped. Helping was done in haste and selfishness. The next example is of a situation where it was right to help...
And then two days ago, I was hatching three eggs. They were posted to me from Ebay, another variable to consider. My temp went low for a few hours mid incubation and although the hydrometer said the humidity was fine, it clearly wasn't. Two days before they were due to hatch, two pipped. Then one stopped chirping. I touched it's beak to see if it was alive and no response. It was dead. I opened the egg and it was perfect, but dead. Absorbed yolk sac - which was odd considering it had only just pipped. Then I realised it was a humidity problem at some point. The membrane was papery. Then the second egg pipped. I was watching closely and just as I thought, humidity problem. The chick obviously couldn't unzip the egg as it was stuck and couldn't move. I left it until last minute. With an anxious heart, I decided to help. The third egg, I candled and it was dead. Opened it, it was deformed. But back to the second egg... it had broke a huge hole in the side of the egg as I mentioned, it couldn't unzip. So carefully feeling back the shell and membrane from half of the egg, I let it do the final push itself and there we have it. A beautiful chick. It's fighting fit, absorbed yolk, no bloody membrane. It was ready to hatch, but just couldn't due to all the variables that were involved in it's incubation.
I hope this helps you to realise when and when not to aid hatching. If in doubt, PM me and I shall respond asap.
Kelly.
If the eggs are with the mother Hen, then nature must do it's part. I know it's terribly exciting and you will be worrying about the chicks that haven't hatched yet, but you must leave them. The eggs in this instance have been turned the appropriate amount of times and they have been stored at the correct humidity and temperature. This means that the eggs have had the best start and usually, if they don't hatch - then they weren't meant to. This means they could have deformities (like a chick I helped out of the egg, it had it's brain on the outside of it's skull and had 'crooked beak'. It died straight away. If it didn't die, I suspect I would have had to cull it. Which I have never ever done in my life. I'd have preferred it to die naturally in the egg, for my conscience's sake at least.)
Now, I am confident that if you are manually hatching eggs in an incubator, you can aid a hatch - only if absolutely necessary!
Eggs that have been incubated by us Humans haven't (usually) been turned the correct amount of times in a day, haven't been turned in the correct direction, haven't been kept at the absolute correct humidity and haven't been kept at the correct and stable temperature. Humidity must be raised before a hatch, lockdown must occur, etc. There are just too many factors to go wrong when hatching eggs yourself. This means chicks get stuck in eggs, membranes become sticky, temperature fluctuations make hatching early or late.
Again, I would only advise intervening last minute when you KNOW for SURE that something is wrong. This will take knowledge about the subject, and learning from previous mistakes.
For example, I helped my first egg to hatch. It hadn't pipped, I was just eager and didn't realise the implications of helping out. The chick was fine, by the way. Although it had curled toes and unabsorbed yolk sac. I immediately started feeding it sugared water to boost it up - as it didn't have energy as the yolk sac was unabsorbed- and although it took a hell of a lot of dedication, it survived although was smaller than other chicks. Here, I shouldn't have helped. Helping was done in haste and selfishness. The next example is of a situation where it was right to help...
And then two days ago, I was hatching three eggs. They were posted to me from Ebay, another variable to consider. My temp went low for a few hours mid incubation and although the hydrometer said the humidity was fine, it clearly wasn't. Two days before they were due to hatch, two pipped. Then one stopped chirping. I touched it's beak to see if it was alive and no response. It was dead. I opened the egg and it was perfect, but dead. Absorbed yolk sac - which was odd considering it had only just pipped. Then I realised it was a humidity problem at some point. The membrane was papery. Then the second egg pipped. I was watching closely and just as I thought, humidity problem. The chick obviously couldn't unzip the egg as it was stuck and couldn't move. I left it until last minute. With an anxious heart, I decided to help. The third egg, I candled and it was dead. Opened it, it was deformed. But back to the second egg... it had broke a huge hole in the side of the egg as I mentioned, it couldn't unzip. So carefully feeling back the shell and membrane from half of the egg, I let it do the final push itself and there we have it. A beautiful chick. It's fighting fit, absorbed yolk, no bloody membrane. It was ready to hatch, but just couldn't due to all the variables that were involved in it's incubation.
I hope this helps you to realise when and when not to aid hatching. If in doubt, PM me and I shall respond asap.
Kelly.
