- Thread starter
- #71
we have an egg with a pipped shell!!!!!!!!!
incubation help needed asap!
- Thread starter BLT79
- Start date
The chicks can survive up to 72 hours inside the hatcher/incubator on just the yolk sac, most say 48. personally I remove them once they are dry and fluffy unless something has gone wrong.
They totally get around like little drunk wrecking balls though. once they go to the brooder dip their beaks in the water and have it near the heat so they can get to it, but don't be surprised if they don't eat or drink much for a day or so. their digestive systems take a bit to kick start.
Be prepared to not get much sleep, my first time I was up most of the night just watching in that little window, waiting for rocking, then a pip, was so exciting yet drawn out.
If I might also add a little list of whats happening. I find knowing makes such a difference to the wait, make it bearable knowing something is happening when it looks like it is not.
Around Day 17 or so you will see rocking if the eggs are on the side, it will be short bursts. Some you see often, other not at all to begin with. This is a reassuring sign that there is life and the time is close.
Day 18, you candle, increase humidity, stop turning and patiently watch conditions and PRAY you see more rocking hahahah, I could not rest until I had seen everyone rock,
Day 19, more rocking, it's almost unbearable.
Rocking. Inside the egg, the chick needs to get into the right position to hatch, they need their hatching tooth close to the aircell, ready for their first breath of air. Being short on space, the rocking can be seen as they wrestle themselves into position. They are then tired from all that work, and normally rest between the rocking fits.
Day 20, Around this time, they start to internally pip. You are once again staring into the incubator, you are on your second set of batteries in the toch, you are sure you are seeing things and you partner long ago turned the light out to go to sleep. The you hear it and your heart skips a beat. The smallest, faintest peep. you were looking at egg #7 in the other corner (again) when you heard it from the other corner. you consider waking your partner, but are not sure if you really did hear it. You say to your self "I'll go to bed when I see #7 move just once" and you hear the peep again, you stand up straight, you are certain #3 just made the noise, OMG, it's happening. At this point I had the biggest smile and was so excited. It was 3am and my 'just going to the loo remark' expired about 2 hours ago, yet sore back and ever dulling batteries here I was watching. Sleep must come and you sign off on Day 20 and welcome Day 21...the much talked about day.
Internal Pip. Here, the chick has an instinctive urge to thrust, they push through the air cell wall and are able to take their first breath of air, while still protected inside the shell. This can be seen with a torch as the beak makes a shadow. It's also possible to hear the bird peep while the shell is intact.
Day 21, you wake after just 2.5 hours sleep, rubbing bleary eyes you wonder back to your post at the small window to see #4 has a little triangle shaped pyramid sticking out of it...OMG I missed it! Franticly, you get a torch and inspect the rest of the clutch, looking for more pips, you stare at #7 again some more and step out to report to the family.
External pip. At a point, sometime quickly, sometimes it takes a day, the bird begins to use more air than can pass though the shell wall, and it runs out of air, so again it instinctively thrusts, forcing it's hatching tooth up and breaks the shell. Allowing more air in for the chick to breath. This starts the next process of absorbing the yolk sac. this is similar to a placenta, full of fuel and nutrients for the chick, so it soaks it up through the umbilical. This takes time. It will look tired, it's beak will be moving but it's the critical time. This is why the humidity is raised, to keep the shell membrane pliable and soft for the next step. This is why they say 'lock down' once an egg pips, it needs that moist air. This step can take a long time, it's almost unbearable and many step in thinking something is wrong, only to find they remove shell, the chick hatches and has complications as the yolk sack is not gone yet. Only start to worry if it has been longer than 24 hours, and even then it can take longer.
After much waiting, self doubt and reading online and a craned neck inspecting the other eggs, you start to see more little pyramids. The family take turns in looking in, watching the same eggs that have been in there lovingly turned to the past 3 weeks. When suddenly, tiny pyramid expands, and a piece of shell lands on the floor. The beak is clearly visible. It's not even the first one that piped, it was a more recent one. your back is killing you, but how could you look away now? Next time we are setting this thing up at a better level. Next time you ask yourself? yeah, there will totally be a next time! The hole begins to expand, little chips fall away, in 10 minutes it has worked it's way around nearly half the egg. Another inspection finds another new pip. #7, that precious Faverolle or what ever breed you have been hoping for, YES!
Zipping. This starts once the chick has absorbed the yolk, it's fuelled up and rested, ready for the next big adventure. It pushes the tooth out, breaks away some shell and then does a little twist and repeats. In my experience, the pip takes the longest, the zip is the fastest. Pending a back injury, you can stand and watch it happen in front of you. Sometimes it takes 10 minutes, others a bit more, but considering how long it took to get this far, it happens fast.
The chick will zip all the way around the egg, even if there is a hole big enough to push out, they seem to be programmed to not take a short cut. Once they have made the lap, some have a moment to catch their breath and some just leap into it but there is a flurry of legs and toes and there is a wet mess gasping in the hatcher floor, and a grown man like myself, a proud father of two, a former soldier and ammature body builder absolutely gushes hahahaha Before you know it, another is zipping.
Post hatch. They will rest, they will stagger about and they will be wet. IMO, best to leave them in there until you fell the last one has hatched. Saying that, I remove the dried chicks after a day, but in that time, usually all my chicks have hatched.
Time wise, you may be a day early, you might be two days behind, but the process is generally the same. When 'nothing is happening' something is happening, so please be patient and let nature do it's thing.
Finally, be prepared that not all may hatch. I have had some hatches where all the eggs that went into lock down hatched, but more often I have a couple that don't. In that case, I always candle them once I remove the dried chicks and give them another day, the next day I candle again, if they have not peeped or shown internal movement/pip, I open them up and check to see why they didn't make it. you may or may not want to do that, but for me I like to know if I can do something the next time.
Sorry, this kind of got out of control hahahaha, might do an edit and post it into an article!
Finally, a video or me and my son and our very first hatched chick
Yes, the giddy excited voice is mine, the one distantly yelling is my son reporting to the family hahaha
They totally get around like little drunk wrecking balls though. once they go to the brooder dip their beaks in the water and have it near the heat so they can get to it, but don't be surprised if they don't eat or drink much for a day or so. their digestive systems take a bit to kick start.
Be prepared to not get much sleep, my first time I was up most of the night just watching in that little window, waiting for rocking, then a pip, was so exciting yet drawn out.
If I might also add a little list of whats happening. I find knowing makes such a difference to the wait, make it bearable knowing something is happening when it looks like it is not.
Around Day 17 or so you will see rocking if the eggs are on the side, it will be short bursts. Some you see often, other not at all to begin with. This is a reassuring sign that there is life and the time is close.
Day 18, you candle, increase humidity, stop turning and patiently watch conditions and PRAY you see more rocking hahahah, I could not rest until I had seen everyone rock,
Day 19, more rocking, it's almost unbearable.
Rocking. Inside the egg, the chick needs to get into the right position to hatch, they need their hatching tooth close to the aircell, ready for their first breath of air. Being short on space, the rocking can be seen as they wrestle themselves into position. They are then tired from all that work, and normally rest between the rocking fits.
Day 20, Around this time, they start to internally pip. You are once again staring into the incubator, you are on your second set of batteries in the toch, you are sure you are seeing things and you partner long ago turned the light out to go to sleep. The you hear it and your heart skips a beat. The smallest, faintest peep. you were looking at egg #7 in the other corner (again) when you heard it from the other corner. you consider waking your partner, but are not sure if you really did hear it. You say to your self "I'll go to bed when I see #7 move just once" and you hear the peep again, you stand up straight, you are certain #3 just made the noise, OMG, it's happening. At this point I had the biggest smile and was so excited. It was 3am and my 'just going to the loo remark' expired about 2 hours ago, yet sore back and ever dulling batteries here I was watching. Sleep must come and you sign off on Day 20 and welcome Day 21...the much talked about day.
Internal Pip. Here, the chick has an instinctive urge to thrust, they push through the air cell wall and are able to take their first breath of air, while still protected inside the shell. This can be seen with a torch as the beak makes a shadow. It's also possible to hear the bird peep while the shell is intact.
Day 21, you wake after just 2.5 hours sleep, rubbing bleary eyes you wonder back to your post at the small window to see #4 has a little triangle shaped pyramid sticking out of it...OMG I missed it! Franticly, you get a torch and inspect the rest of the clutch, looking for more pips, you stare at #7 again some more and step out to report to the family.
External pip. At a point, sometime quickly, sometimes it takes a day, the bird begins to use more air than can pass though the shell wall, and it runs out of air, so again it instinctively thrusts, forcing it's hatching tooth up and breaks the shell. Allowing more air in for the chick to breath. This starts the next process of absorbing the yolk sac. this is similar to a placenta, full of fuel and nutrients for the chick, so it soaks it up through the umbilical. This takes time. It will look tired, it's beak will be moving but it's the critical time. This is why the humidity is raised, to keep the shell membrane pliable and soft for the next step. This is why they say 'lock down' once an egg pips, it needs that moist air. This step can take a long time, it's almost unbearable and many step in thinking something is wrong, only to find they remove shell, the chick hatches and has complications as the yolk sack is not gone yet. Only start to worry if it has been longer than 24 hours, and even then it can take longer.
After much waiting, self doubt and reading online and a craned neck inspecting the other eggs, you start to see more little pyramids. The family take turns in looking in, watching the same eggs that have been in there lovingly turned to the past 3 weeks. When suddenly, tiny pyramid expands, and a piece of shell lands on the floor. The beak is clearly visible. It's not even the first one that piped, it was a more recent one. your back is killing you, but how could you look away now? Next time we are setting this thing up at a better level. Next time you ask yourself? yeah, there will totally be a next time! The hole begins to expand, little chips fall away, in 10 minutes it has worked it's way around nearly half the egg. Another inspection finds another new pip. #7, that precious Faverolle or what ever breed you have been hoping for, YES!
Zipping. This starts once the chick has absorbed the yolk, it's fuelled up and rested, ready for the next big adventure. It pushes the tooth out, breaks away some shell and then does a little twist and repeats. In my experience, the pip takes the longest, the zip is the fastest. Pending a back injury, you can stand and watch it happen in front of you. Sometimes it takes 10 minutes, others a bit more, but considering how long it took to get this far, it happens fast.
The chick will zip all the way around the egg, even if there is a hole big enough to push out, they seem to be programmed to not take a short cut. Once they have made the lap, some have a moment to catch their breath and some just leap into it but there is a flurry of legs and toes and there is a wet mess gasping in the hatcher floor, and a grown man like myself, a proud father of two, a former soldier and ammature body builder absolutely gushes hahahaha Before you know it, another is zipping.
Post hatch. They will rest, they will stagger about and they will be wet. IMO, best to leave them in there until you fell the last one has hatched. Saying that, I remove the dried chicks after a day, but in that time, usually all my chicks have hatched.
Time wise, you may be a day early, you might be two days behind, but the process is generally the same. When 'nothing is happening' something is happening, so please be patient and let nature do it's thing.
Finally, be prepared that not all may hatch. I have had some hatches where all the eggs that went into lock down hatched, but more often I have a couple that don't. In that case, I always candle them once I remove the dried chicks and give them another day, the next day I candle again, if they have not peeped or shown internal movement/pip, I open them up and check to see why they didn't make it. you may or may not want to do that, but for me I like to know if I can do something the next time.
Sorry, this kind of got out of control hahahaha, might do an edit and post it into an article!
Finally, a video or me and my son and our very first hatched chick
Yes, the giddy excited voice is mine, the one distantly yelling is my son reporting to the family hahaha
Last edited:
I also remove the chicks once they are dry, usually leave them in the incubator for 8-12 hours, Our last hatch we had one or two hatch here and there throughout the day, went to bed, woke up the next morning and there were 11 that had hatched over night, we removed the dry one quickly as they had pushed all the other eggs to the very edges of the incubator.. Although there were some that had external pips we didn't have any chicks that were shrink wrapped.
- Thread starter
- #74
ok took daughter to drs which took way too long! came home to a hatched chick! happy and disappointed at same time, so hopefully we are here to see next one! it is still somewhat attached to shell by little piece of string like substance. is that ok? so I should take it out when dried? and put right in brooder box and possibly add warm water for humidity level?
ok took daughter to drs which took way too long! came home to a hatched chick! happy and disappointed at same time, so hopefully we are here to see next one! it is still somewhat attached to shell by little piece of string like substance. is that ok? so I should take it out when dried? and put right in brooder box and possibly add warm water for humidity level?
That may be the umbilical cord, I would leave it for a bit longer...Is the chick completely dry??
Oh and Congrats!!!!!
- Thread starter
- #77
no not completely dry yet. just hatched within last 2 hours. and thanks.
I had a few like that, I had one that was completely dry and still was dragging around its shell, I took it out and carefully snipped the cord... That's why I ask
- Thread starter
- #79
so how long should I wait to see if it comes off? and where would I snip it?I had a few like that, I had one that was completely dry and still was dragging around its shell, I took it out and carefully snipped the cord... That's why I ask
Wait until its completely dry, Usually within 8-12 hours... Usually it dragging around the shell with break it off (at least that's my experience) If its still attached after its dry I snipped it as close as I could without snipping the chick
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