How do you help a chick out of its egg (pic added)?

[Katy]

Quote:
agreed! And don't open the incubator! They need that humidity!!! Good luck!!!

Why is the humidity so important? Im wondering because it looks to me like the sack around the chick is drying out and turning white. Will it still be able to get out?

The membrane around the pipped area generally does look white.....it's the membrane still inside the shell that needs to stay moist.
I don't help chicks to hatch. But if you're determined to do that you need to wait until at least 24 hours have passed. If you "help" it too soon it will not have had time to absorb the yolk and will more than likely bleed to death.

 

[Tuffoldhen]

Quote:
Why is the humidity so important? Im wondering because it looks to me like the sack around the chick is drying out and turning white. Will it still be able to get out?

The membrane around the pipped area generally does look white.....it's the membrane still inside the shell that needs to stay moist.
I don't help chicks to hatch. But if you're determined to do that you need to wait until at least 24 hours have passed. If you "help" it too soon it will not have had time to absorb the yolk and will more than likely bleed to death.

 

[tothemoon]

I already had a chick die on me, I guess I was just uneducated on hatching. I just put 7 more eggs in the bator, but maybe I should just dispose of them instead of trying to hatch them, seeing as how I dont seem to be very good at it. My homemade bator doesnt seem to be holding temps and humidity very well without me checking it every day and either adding more water or venting it. As this is the case, I cannot keep the humidity without opening it, which I have learned is a very bad idea in the last stages. Would it be considered in-humane to dispose of the eggs I just put in? Or should I continue to try to hatch them? I have about 10 more scheduled to hatch within the next few days as well. I will do everything I can to give them the opportunity to hatch seeing as how they are already formed in the egg (I candled and all were forming). Thanks for all the advice and the link that talked about not helping them hatch.

 

[Tuffoldhen]

Why not just leave them and see how the hatch goes. However far along you are would be just killing them anyway if you dispose of the eggs so I'd give them a chance.

 

[silkiechicken]

Hatching takes practice so I would wait it out and see what kinds of changes you can make to create a better bator. Do some reading, prep youself for things that can happen, and go for it. Once these are done, re-plan the hatching schedual and set them all on the same day. This will help keep the conditions more stable. We all start somewhere, and we are all here to learn/help.

 

[Katy]

That is part of the problem with trying to do a staggered hatch when you only have one incubator. It's impossible to have the right conditions for all the different eggs that are at different stages.

 

[neferset]

Everything everyone is telling you is true. If you do ever intend to help a chick hatch, you should be very careful about how you do it and make sure they still do most of the work on their own. Everyone has a bad time with incubating now and again. It's one of the ways we learn.

I had a horrible time with my humidity this time around, but I've also previously hatched during warm, humid days. I've never had a fall hatch before and I'm not terribly impressed by the ability of the incubator I was using for the hatcher to maintain humidity when the atmospheric humidity drops that low. Not all of them die if you help, btw. I have 24 chicks bouncing around my brooder from what probably should have been a very poor hatch. I was both dedicated and careful in what I did to help and I helped most of them. I got very little sleep. It is true that not all of the ones I helped lived. In fact, two died, though they had fully absorbed yolks etc. But, I helped an awful lot and they didn't die.

(I had staggered hatches for about three weeks using three incubators so as not to disturb currently hatching eggs. I'm a little in shock after it all, though, especially in light of the way it went. And don't get me started about the chick I named Murphy, as in Murphy's Law. He's going to be a rooster. After the lengths I went to for him, he has to, just for the irony. And I bet he has some long forgotten long crower genes, too.)

Since your incubator is home made, maybe you could work out some kind of drip system that will work to allow you to refill the water in your incubator without opening it? A tube in a vent hole might work. A lot of people do that. I have three more common styrofoam models and I use a turkey baster in the vent holes and a sponge just beneath the wire floor under one vent hole. I also keep all the water wells filled and I keep a tall cup full of water under the other vent hole.

 

[tothemoon]

I will try to continue with the hatch as is then. Thank you all for the advice. I will attempt to help him hatch, probably in the morning if he hasnt come out by that time. im wondering, I still see red vessels in the membrane surrounding him, does that mean he might bleed to death if they are cut? The membrane is dried out a lot and stuck to him, he is moving around a lot more though so I want to give it some more time. Thanks again for all the advice, and the words of encouragement!

 

[silkiechicken]

Yes, he can bleed out if the vessels on the membrane are still red with blood. They will be a bit pink, but should not have any blood in them by hatch time. Sometimes they do get a bit anxious and pip a day too early, and take their time to come out, as they can feel if they are still attached to their membrane blood circulation. If/when you chose to help, if there is any trace of blood dripping out, stop and wait another 6 hours or so to give the chick time to adsorb the blood. If he is moving around, he might not be actually "stuck" but just moving around waiting for everything to get adsorbed. Any membrane near the hole it makes will turn paper white in time, but the membrane under the shell should be still moist.

 

[hunter1hall]

I have to say, I am no expert on the subject, but I have helped 5 or 6 chicks and turkeys out in the past week. All are perfect. I note the time I notice the pip and I give them 24 hours. If they havent progressed beyond a pip, then i zip the egg with tweezers making sure there is no blood. I let the chick free itself from the egg. I think, this is my personal oppinion, that most injuries and leg problems occur when the chick is pulled from the egg. I have had very good success with the ones I have helped. Just make sure you give the chicks enough time to attemp to get out on their own.