how to tell if they are alive

[dadsgirl]

i have 9 eggs i had to remove from bator, suppose to hatch yesterday , one hatch, no movement or activity from any of the others, they seem heavy so assuming they have chicks inside, i don't want to wait to long and let them die, so what is the easiest way to tell if they are alive, and what should i do at this point, leave them alone or something else .. thanks, angie

 

[goatkeepers]

Why did you have to remove them from the bator? Sometimes they can hatch a day late... Did you candle them?

 

[donnap1967]

Since they seem heavy it does sound like there are chicks inside. If you temps were even one degree low they could hatch late. Anywhere from 21-24 days but I have even heard of a chick hatching as late as Day 25. I would wait to candle them at Day 24 if they haven't pipped by then.

What did you do with the ones you removed? Did you just remove to candle them and then return them to the incubator?

If possible I would get them back in and get your humidity back up and leave them for another day or two at least..


Edited to add:
It's very hard to see any movement when you candle at this point...especially, if your are new to incubating. What someone would look for is to see if the chick as pipped the inner membrane but this is very hard to see. I wouldnt recommend touching the eggs this soon though. While 21 days is the average hatch day it is not set in stone and can vary.