I Broke The No1 Law Of Hatching Eggs In An Incubator!

[lena_]

So, i know It sounds pretty bad, but before you post comments of complaint get the facts; the eggs had dried out and the chicks were half dead. if you don't know the first law it is: Never Help A Hatching Egg. Well I had to help all of my 4 button chicks out. They are now fine healthy chicks. 1 silver, 1 white and 2 brown stripy chicks?

 

[dekel18042]

So, i know It sounds pretty bad, but before you post comments of complaint get the facts; the eggs had dried out and the chicks were half dead. if you don't know the first law it is: Never Help A Hatching Egg. Well I had to help all of my 4 button chicks out. They are now fine healthy chicks. 1 silver, 1 white and 2 brown stripy chicks?

I think many of us have helped a chick out when it appeared it was in trouble and would not survive without intervention. Going in is never my first thought but sometimes it is necessary. We've noticed it is often the very last chick and things might be drying out or it can be a really big chick in a smaller egg (Hmmm, maybe a rooster? ) or once the chick was crammed with her head in the small end of the egg and couldn't zip.
The only chick we ever helped then lost was my last hatch, the chick was taking forever and his cries got weaker and weaker. We got him out and he lived four days then died. Not sure why. Maybe we should have intervened sooner? It's a fine line.

 

[islafarm]

I lost one this afternoon. When I got home most of the others had hatched, but this one had pipped then made a round hole in the shell rather than zipping. I debated on what to do, but I could see that the membrane was white rather than clear and the poor little thing wasn't looking great. I tried to open up the shell a little more to see if it was just struggling against the drying membrane, but it was quite bloody. Looked like it hadn't drawn in the blood from the inner surface of the membrane. It died and I opened the shell to see if I could work out what happened. It was very bloody, but the yolk had all been absorbed. I am not experienced enough to know what had happened. I have helped chicks out of the shell before and they all did well, but I think it was too little too late for this one, it never opened its eyes.

 

[geniash]

Guilty of helping 1 hatch as well. It started piping from the wrong end of the egg and there is no way it could have done it by itself. It is a very fine line, however. I wouldn't want to breed those that couldn't get out of the egg on its own for example.