How squished is too squished?

[Munkeesmama]

Day 20 of hatching golden cuckoo maran, and blue golden cuckoo marans (is that really a color, or made up one?!?) Anyways, the eggs are squeezed in tight, in fact, one is laying on top of the rest. Not sure how this will affect the hatch, but so far so good, and we have a pip. So yay! So, can eggs piled in right next to eachother without wiggle room, hatch alright? Out of 40 eggs, 35 made it to lockdown.

 

[Munkeesmama]

Anyone?

 

[88Haywood88]

Well, what you gotta think about is , where are the newborns supposed to go once they hatch? if they're too close together, they will have no room to rest.

 

[Munkeesmama]

Well, 2 eggs pipped last night around 6 or so. This morning, one is out, the other has made no progress. It'll come I'm sure. Still moving and chirping a bit. hopefully the newly hatched chick will encourage it. This morning 4-5 more pips. I've attached a picture too of the newest little member of our flock. You can also see how "squished" it is in here, and tell me wether this will prove to be disastrous or not.

 

[Munkeesmama]

Oh! Well, hello there. Want some help out?

 

[dragonjaze]

It's going to get awfully crowded in there, pretty fast. Can you reach in quickly and take out 2 or 3 at a time as they fluff out?

 

[kvmommy]

I'm gonna have a lot in mine too...I'd just take some out as they fluff. At least at first...in a humid place.

 

[enggass]

How quickly does shrink wrap occur if the humidity falls briefly? I have a Brinsea and the humidity tends to climb quickly in these units.
I know some people will move to a humid environment before opening, but what if he humidity climbs quickly on its own? Does brief exposure to low humidity cause shrink wrap?
Also, what is the most critical stage when it comes to shrink wrap occurring? Before they pip? After they pip? When they are zipping?

 

[Munkeesmama]

I'd say the more membrane exposed, the higher chance of shrink wrapping the chick if humidity drops. 5 chicks are out. I'll have to wait for an oppurtunity between hatches when there are no pips to sneak in and grab them.

 

[MuscovyMad]

The degree of shrink wrapping will depend on the drop in humidity. Obviously if it is really dry all of a sudden then the membranes will start to dry out. But if it is a little drop for a short period then moisture won't really have time to evaporate so you should be fine.

Zipping would probably be the worst time for shrink wrapping due to the exposed membranes to the drier air. Water loss through the shell is going to be harder than straight from the membrane itself directly into the air. And it make occur faster with a fan as opposed to a still air incubator as the evaporation of moisture from the membranes will make the air in the immediate vicinity of the egg slightly more humid than the rest of the bator. But if there is a fan then this will whisk away the slightly humid air from the membrane surface replacing it with dry air from other areas in the bator.

Hope this helps.