How long does it take for them to hatch again?

[adrian]

I had a goose egg externally pip yesterday, almost exactly 24 hours ago. The baby's really not moved or done anything but squeak and breathe, and there are still visible, most likely active veins lining the shell. However, this baby did not internally pip as it is hatching from the wrong end of the egg. Does this mean it will take longer for the little one to hatch? How long should I give the baby before there's reason for worry?

 

[Windchyme]

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That is the way of baby geese. They pip then can sit for up to24- 30 hours or so before "getting busy". If the veins are still active it isn't ready yet so don't worry yet. I watch the squeaking and breathing every couple hours during the day just to make sure that it continues to be normal. If they aren't doing well they stop squeaking and their breathing can become abnormal. Unless you see signs of severe stress I'd leave it up to another 24 hours before doing anything dramatic. At that point I'd seriously start to get concerned.

Since it is malpositioned it may or may not have trouble getting out when it is ready and make sure to keep that humidity up to try to prevent the baby getting stuck. To check I'll use a long fingernail and try to gently run it around dry looking areas between the baby and the sack if I can, I have also used a dull pencil to do the same thing and free it if it is stuck. They usually get stuck right around the pip opening if at all. If you see it cracking a huge hole in the same place for a long time check to see if it is stuck. In worse cases where it just seems horribly stuck and it is cracking a huge hole in the same area but doesn't seem to be turning, I'll help it out by manually removing where it is cracked while checking for being stuck. Sometimes if I think the baby absolutely needs help out I'll start to help pip around the egg in very small pieces (in case bleeding starts- a small area bleeds less then a large area) like it would do, if the membranes are yellowish with no active veins you can keep going until the baby is out (wash your hands well first to remove germs and I try to avoid messing with the umbilical site other then helping the cord to snap). Since you know about active veins I am guessing you know that to disturb those would cause alot of bleeding and hurt the baby.

I offer this only as a very last resort (kind of like doing a c-section on a dying woman to save the baby) if you have to mess with the membrane with active veins, I like to wash my hands well first, have clean paper or regular towels within reach, and I try to crack away the shell while tearing the membranes as little as possible and roll them back over the baby like a sock off a foot. What I am trying to do is to get to the baby's fanny with as little damage as possible then I pinch off the umbilical and cut it with scissors below where I pinch it off and hold it for a good minute, check for bleeding, and then pinch again if needed until we don't have mass amounts of bleeding. The umbilical is connected to all those active veins and if I can severe the connection then I don't have to worry about the baby bleeding out. Such babies are iffy on if they will live depending on how much bleeding occured. If bleeding does occur use the towel to apply pressure until you get it to stop. Babies can bleed out to the point of shock and death very quickly. I'd avoid this unless you're fairly sure the baby is dead anyway, it's not peeping much if at all if disturbed and it's breathing is not right, if you don't do something.

 

[adrian]

Thank you for that wonderful explanation. You are very knowledgeable. I've done assisted hatches for goslings in the past, just as you described before. It would seem the baby is making progress, and getting very energetic and loud. She's moving around as well, doesn't seem to be stuck at all. The veins are also drying up, more and more as she gets louder and louder.

Wish her luck.

 

[adrian]

I just wanted to say I left twenty minutes ago to go to the store, and the gosling had made just a few little holes. When I got back, she had pushed herself out entirely, and is squeaking and resting now. Wow! Humidity was up to about 80 - 85%. Membrane was absolutely nice and moist and apparently she is very strong.

A little bit, a tiny bit of the yolk sac is still outside the baby but I am leaving her on soft grip mat and it should be all fine in a little while. No veins, and no bleeding, and no assistance. About twenty eight hours after first external pip.

The yolk sac is about 98% drawn in so I got some pictures. She's right back in the incubator, getting more fluffy now. She's pretty active and trying to jump out. I don't think I've had such an active gosling before. Mind you, she is a wild breed of goose. A snow goose – the most prolific birds in Canada. People control their population by hunting and culling eggs. Culling sometimes meaning destroying nests with developing babies in them. That's where I got this little guy and his deceased sibling, who never made it out of the egg. The birds are, oddly enough, kept domestically. Pinioned and controlled. They're extremely friendly, docile birds that are quite quiet unless alarmed. Never hiss or attack humans, and walk right up to people. That's why I just couldn't let this one die, even if those who own the parent birds wanted them to...

And to think I left to this:

I pulled back some of the membrane so she could breathe from her egg, as there was no air cell and I worried. Luckily there was no blood, no veins, nothing nearby for her to pip into. The membrane did not dry out at all despite my interference, and she had not a problem hatching at all... I'm sort of amazed.

 

[Windchyme]

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Ahhhh, so glad it made it out ok, if things are right most of them do but it's good to know what to do in an emergency. I have had that happen to me, leave with a little pip anc come back not too long later to a whole baby, gotta love it. Now wish me luck on my upcoming hatch any day now.


Tell it welcome to the world from me.

 

[adrian]

I will tell her right away.

Her yolk sac is entirely absorbed now.

I have more goose eggs (pilgrims and africans, three of each) due on the 8th... Stopped turning today, and am not going to touch them. (Or, at least, I will try). It seems to me the most complications for baby geese arise from too much handling prior to an internal pip, and too little moisture after an external pip. Their long necks make it hard for them to get into proper position and I won't mess that up.

So perhaps we will be hatching around the same time...?

Best wishes to you and your future hatchlings...! Good hatching vibes your way, if they do indeed work.

 

[Windchyme]

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Hehehe mine are due on the 8th as well but mine have been running a day or two early- I think due to a unusual hot spell we had here a week ago or so, nearly went triple digits for a week and the incubators were adjusted for the normal temps. So they will probably appear this weekend. I just put mine in the hatcher too, I always put the air cell facing up as this is where I find mine pip the most to avoid crud getting in the pip hole and suffocating them, humidity up and now we wait (I hate that part the worst).

I too find the more I fuss with them the worse the outcome as well. Just better to set them up right and ignore that they exist save a glance in every so often to check on progress.

 

[adrian]

Oddly, I think my babies might be due a little later as this goose was two days prior to when I expected her. But it's very difficult to know when snow geese are due. I have heard 24 days, but she hatched at about 26. It's just that I haven't had a clear answer to when they hatch. The other eggs are all viable and getting very big. One is a little behind because it was almost 10 days old when I set the egg in the incubator. However, it is probably the most active and healthiest embryo of the batch.

I set 8 viable eggs and have 6 on day 26, let's hope they hatch out alright. I hate to lose birds so close to hatching.

What birds are you hatching? I'd love to see pictures when they do.

Edit: Decided to post a video -

http://tinypic.com/r/2n7m8aw/5


Are all goslings this active three hours after hatching?!

 

[Windchyme]

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I am hatching dewlap toulouse eggs. We're getting down to the last of them.