Hi from western australia

[Nada77]

Hi I'm new and have just hatched my first chickens in an incubator 10 out of 15 have hatched which is great but I have 4 more eggs that i've seen move and I thought I could hear chirping on day 22 its now day 23 and there is still no piping and they haven't moved much except for 1 should I be worried? Well i am but do not know what to do. any suggestions?

 

[drumstick diva]

Hi and welcome to BYC. I would give your chicks another day or two before getting concerned. Have you been opening the incubator to remove chicks or leaving them in with the eggs? They can go without eating for at least two days, as they absorb the egg sac.

Every time you open the incubator, the humidity drops inside. This can cause "shrink wrapping," of chicks which can make it very difficult for them to hatch. Are you checking temps and humidity with an accurate hygrometer?

If you feel an absolute need to get into the 'bator - first run hot water in your bathroom shower. When the room is all steamed up, you can carefully bring the 'bator inside and open to remove chicks quickly. If you candle eggs, you may want to check for signs of movement in the remaining eggs, or tap shells to see if you get any response.

Spray some warm water into the bator and over the eggs before closing up and return incubator to its original location. Put you hatched chicks into the brooder with heat lamp and show them where food and water is, by tapping on the bowls.

Please go to Raising backyard chickens forum and check the side bar(right side) for the incubation and hatching threads. You will find more info there. Sending good hatching vibes your way.

 

[Nada77]

Hi thanks for replying,
firstly yes I have been opening the bator to get chicks out and I don't have a proper hygrometer, which makes me think I may have caused the shrink wrapping. :-( I have temp readings at 38 degrees which obviously drop when I've opened the bator but rise back to 38 pretty quickly but humidity, I don't know.
I have one egg that is rocking and looks a little cracked on the outside but no piping, if its shrink wrapped how can I tell it needs help?
I've not seen the other eggs move today.
Hopefully I've not shrunk them ill give a couple more days.

Thanks again

 

[Michael OShay]

G'day and welcome to BYC! Glad you decided to join our flock. Drumstick diva has given you some good advice. We have a lot of members from Australia and if you are interested in getting in touch with any of them, you will find many of them at https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/598568/australia-six-states-and-that-funny-little-island. We are here to help in any way we can. Good luck with your remaining eggs.

 

[1muttsfan]

Hi and welcome to BYC from northern Michigan

I would recommend posting your question in the Incubating and Hatching Eggs section of the Forum - and good luck.

 

[TwoCrows]

Hello there and welcome to BYC!

Make sure your humidity is up around 65% to 70%. All vents wide open on your incubator. I would nature takes it's course on this one. It is never advised to help them out of the shell if they can't get out themselves. Don't open the lid of the incubator for now so it stays nice and humid inside the incubator.

Keep us posted!

 

[Kelsie2290]

Hello and Welcome To BYC! Congratulations on your successful hatch so far. You might want to post on the Hatching Eggs forum if you think you are dealing with shrink wrapped chicks, and if you haven't seen it the 101 article also covers shrink wrapping and assisted hatching https://www.backyardchickens.com/f/5/incubating-hatching-eggs and https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/hatching-eggs-101

 

[Mountain Peeps]

Welcome to BYC! Please make yourself at home and we are here to help.

You've gotten good advice above.

Best of luck!

 

[Nada77]

Thank you