is it possible the shell is too hard for chick the pip??

[daniellenoel]

we are on day 23.. we have one egg pipped and working on hatching
the rest there is nothing happening but a few are moving a bit.
One egg the biggest/brownest egg has been moving for the past 3 days but no pip, could it be that the shell is too hard for him to pip through???
feeling like it is getting past the time for them to hatch and would feel terrible if the chick was trying and couldn't make it out
using a brinsea octagon advance
temp has been steady the whole time humidity has been good but dropped a little at teh beginning of lockdown for the past 3 days a steady 64%-68%
any thoughts?

 

[snowydiamonds]

Yes, the shell can be too hard to pip so if its three days, you've got to hurry and figure out which egg the chick is yelling help from and carefully break that egg so the chick can survive. I prided myself (like a fool) on such hard egg shells, thinking I was giving my birds enough calcium until I heard chicks asking for help in the incubator and I couldn't figure out exactly which egg(s) so my poor chickies died, all my fault I now carefully remove the egg and listen to find which is peeping for help and you can tell it begins to sound desperate and then weak, while cupping the egg in my palm to keep it warm, then very carefully hit the shell with a butter knife to crack the shell while taking care not to open the membrane/shell too quickly and not braining the chick so once I know its strong enough I will put the chick into the brooder w/heat lamp, w/food and water. Good luck!

 

[daniellenoel]

okay... but what about opening the incubator?? i am worried that the other chick who just hatched. I am worried about opening the bator...
I am at school and do not have access to a warm/moist room to do this in....
gosh.. now I am so worried about the little chick trying to make his first pip can't because of the shell being so hard?????
What do I do????????

 

[McSpin]

My welsummer eggs are so hard I've got to wack them hard to break them, yet every chick gets out easily. I'd guess they are 5 times harder than any store egg I've ever broken. I've found when chicks can't get out, it's because something wasn't right. They got stuck to the side of the membrane, or were too weak to pip or they didn't get into the proper position, but I doubt it was ever from a strong chick in the right conditions unable to break the shell. The fact that you're on day 23 tells me something was not right with hatching conditions.

I've been convinced that if hatching conditions are correct and they can't get out, they probably shouldn't be allowed to enter the gene pool for future breeding stock. Breeding this type of thing into the gene pool can quickly ruin a line of birds.

 

[whippet128]

I agree. The animal kingdom is very cruel. Only the strong survive for a reason.

 

[daniellenoel]

makes me sad

Maybe he will hear the other chick who hatched and start making his way out into the world....
here's hoping

 

[McSpin]

I have a little different take on this. Cruel would be to allow these animals to live and destroy the vitality of species. Merciful is to allow them to die for the benefit of the species. They're doing their part by not making it.


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