Incubators Anonymous

[Flowerbh]

So excited. Egg #6, that I thought might have died because I hadn't see it move since lockdown is the first one pipping!!!!! Chicks tomorrow. wow woooo!

 

[gimmie birdies]

That happens my first chick to hatch is one I had given up on day 14 or so.

 

[Flowerbh]

Question: When your chicks start to hatch, is it ok to remove them....they are rolling the other eggs all over the place! Is it safe for the other eggs if I open the lid and quickly pull the hatched chicks out?

 

[Overoberyl]

Question: When your chicks start to hatch, is it ok to remove them....they are rolling the other eggs all over the place! Is it safe for the other eggs if I open the lid and quickly pull the hatched chicks out?

I always do. I can't stand when the hatched chicks mess with the remaining eggs, just bothers me, lol. I usually wait until there are a couple that need to come out, and I just add more water right away to compensate for any loss of humidity. I have never had a problem.

 

[ki4got]

Question: When your chicks start to hatch, is it ok to remove them....they are rolling the other eggs all over the place! Is it safe for the other eggs if I open the lid and quickly pull the hatched chicks out?

only if you have some way of upping the humidity quick afterwards or else the other hatching eggs will dry out and fail to hatch...

most people leave the chicks in, until everyone else has hatched.

that's why i hatch the eggs upright, in a paper egg crate. then it doesn't matter how active the other chicks are.

 

[Flowerbh]

Another question: One chick pipped at about midnight last night but hasn't done one more thing but that little hole. It has been almost 10 hours since then. Do I help it? I think I see him breathing in there. When do I know if it needs help?

 

[Overoberyl]

Another question: One chick pipped at about midnight last night but hasn't done one more thing but that little hole. It has been almost 10 hours since then. Do I help it? I think I see him breathing in there. When do I know if it needs help?

I wouldn't consider that overdue yet, personally. I would look at the membrane around the pip, does it appear wet or gooey? If so, the chick may be shelacked and might in fact need help. If it looks normal with no excess fluid present, I would give it more time.

Also, if you need to open the bator, you can use a spray bottle on mist to compensate for any humidity loss while you remove hatched chicks.

 

[Flowerbh]

OK, so today was hatch day. Last night I saw almost all of my 11 eggs moving around. Early this morning 3 hatched. But, since last night, I have not seen any of the eggs move at all! Did they all die at the last minute? My humidity has stayed between 58% and 68%. My last hatch was good with that humidity. So, what should I do? Do you think they are just slower? I know that at lockdown, the temp went down to 97.9 for about a day and a half until I got it back up to around 99.9. Do you think that will just delay them? Remember, they were all moving around in their eggs last night. Do I have any options other than to wait and see? Have any of you had this happen and how did it turn out? Please advise! Thanks.

 

[Overoberyl]

OK, so today was hatch day. Last night I saw almost all of my 11 eggs moving around. Early this morning 3 hatched. But, since last night, I have not seen any of the eggs move at all! Did they all die at the last minute? My humidity has stayed between 58% and 68%. My last hatch was good with that humidity. So, what should I do? Do you think they are just slower? I know that at lockdown, the temp went down to 97.9 for about a day and a half until I got it back up to around 99.9. Do you think that will just delay them? Remember, they were all moving around in their eggs last night. Do I have any options other than to wait and see? Have any of you had this happen and how did it turn out? Please advise! Thanks.

There is definitely a chance they will still hatch, some chicks are just late. However sometimes with shipped eggs they will make it all the way to lockdown and just never pip internally...I'm sure it wasn't the temp drop, and the humidity seems fine, I think just sometimes they are too weak to hatch for whatever reason...if you're feeling brave you can poke a small hole at the very top of the egg with a needle and try to see if they are still alive, if some are still hanging in there but not pipping you can try helping them. However, opening the egg is always risky so you just have to accept the fact that you might end up doing more harm than good...when you candle them, if they still aren't moving, they haven't pipped internally, and if you can tell that the blood has drained out of the veins, most likely they aren't alive.

I hope some more hatch for you! Just out of curiosity, what breed are they?

 

[Dahlisgrams]

Yay!!! I have a Sulmtaler pipping!!!