Is this a good pip?

[cafrhe]

It is day 19 and I was not expecting this....This is our 1st time incubating anything. We had some hatching eggs under a broody and she did a great job-not much stress for us. These are from Red star hens with a Barred Rock roo.

We put the eggs in lock down on Wed night and I thought I heard chirping, thought maybe it was the old chicks outside, nope, decided to check the temp in the incubator while I was up and found this:




I am hoping the pip is the right area...I think it is at the right end. I saw the egg rock a little bit but it is still now and no more chirping. I am glad it is a Friday, I cant see my daughter going to bed on time tonight!

 

[Ravynscroft]

It is day 19 and I was not expecting this....This is our 1st time incubating anything. We had some hatching eggs under a broody and she did a great job-not much stress for us. These are from Red star hens with a Barred Rock roo. We put the eggs in lock down on Wed night and I thought I heard chirping, thought maybe it was the old chicks outside, nope, decided to check the temp in the incubator while I was up and found this: I am hoping the pip is the right area...I think it is at the right end. I saw the egg rock a little bit but it is still now and no more chirping. I am glad it is a Friday, I cant see my daughter going to bed on time tonight!

Looks just fine! Just sit on your hands now, lol. It's hard, but you just have to be patient and wait for them to finish. Keep an eye on your humidity and you should be just fine. Your own eggs, right? Not shipped? And congrats on your first pip!!!

 

[cafrhe]

Yes, our own eggs. We brought our 3 RS in every night for 4 nights, poor girls, so we knew exactly whose eggs we had.

I was not prepared for a pip today, I have been googling 'pip' for images. I feel better seeing some other pictures.

Thanks for the reassurance. Yes, sitting on hands is difficult! #1 has made more progress in the last few hours. I can see that the membrane is broken and it looks like a chip on either side of the original pip has been made. I guess we are zipping (or un zipping??). Humidity is either 65 or 70 depending on whether I read the reptile hygrometer or the probe hygrometer. Hopefully that is right.

My daughter just got home from school....now the 2 of us can practice patience together.

We started with 11 RS eggs. When we candled on Wed it looked like 9 had grown and 2 had quit. Left the quitters in there just in case. Really hope the 9 are all ok.

Thanks again!

 

[AmyLynn2374]

Yes, our own eggs. We brought our 3 RS in every night for 4 nights, poor girls, so we knew exactly whose eggs we had.

I was not prepared for a pip today, I have been googling 'pip' for images. I feel better seeing some other pictures.

Thanks for the reassurance. Yes, sitting on hands is difficult! #1 has made more progress in the last few hours. I can see that the membrane is broken and it looks like a chip on either side of the original pip has been made. I guess we are zipping (or un zipping??). Humidity is either 65 or 70 depending on whether I read the reptile hygrometer or the probe hygrometer. Hopefully that is right.

My daughter just got home from school....now the 2 of us can practice patience together.

We started with 11 RS eggs. When we candled on Wed it looked like 9 had grown and 2 had quit. Left the quitters in there just in case. Really hope the 9 are all ok.

Thanks again!

Congrats!! My last hatch quite a few of the eggs pipped on day 19, though most hatched out day early day 20. I like it so much better that way....lol Yes, humidity needs to be at least 65% so you are good there. (I prefer 75%). Good luck on the patience. Waiting for eggs to go from pip to zip could test the patience of a saint, I swear...lol

 

[Ravynscroft]

Yes, our own eggs.  We brought our 3 RS in every night for 4 nights, poor girls, so we knew exactly whose eggs we had.  

I was not prepared for a pip today, I have been googling 'pip' for images.  I feel better seeing some other pictures.

Thanks for the reassurance.  Yes, sitting on hands is difficult!  #1 has made  more progress in the last few hours.  I can see that the membrane is broken and it looks like a chip on either side of the original pip has been made.  I guess we are zipping (or un zipping??).   Humidity is either 65 or 70 depending on whether I read the reptile hygrometer or the probe hygrometer.  Hopefully that is right.  

My daughter just got home from school....now the 2 of us can practice patience together.

We started with 11 RS eggs.  When we candled on Wed it looked like 9 had grown and 2 had quit.  Left the quitters in there just in case.  Really hope the 9 are all ok.

Thanks again!

No problem, am glad to help! I know how nerve wracking first hatch is, I kept second guessing myself, lol.
Yep, your first is zipping! Yay!! Humidity sounds fine, as long as it is in that range you are good. Once they start hatching out it might rise a bit, so don't worry that is normal, just make sure it doesn't drop under 60 on the higher gauge.
Oh, and sometimes they pip earlier if the temp was slightly high during incubation, and sometimes they just pip whenever they decide to come out. It's usually never exact, lol.
Hope they all hatch for you and post pics once they do!!

 

[cafrhe]

We managed to go to sleep last night as progress was slow. This morning pips #1 & 2 were hatched!

chick #1


Chick 2




This egg pipped last night around 9 or 10pm. This morning it looks almost exactly the same. Should I do anything at this point? Chick #2 pipped maybe an hour before #3 and hatched this morning.

 

[AmyLynn2374]

Yay! Babies! Congrats! Nothing to do at this point. It's not unusual for eggs to take up to 24 hours to zip after pipping. Just wait wait and more waiting...lol

 

[cafrhe]

Thanks! I am a little concerned because there are 2 that were not pipped last night making more progress than this egg...Chick is moving and chirping though....

I had to take the 1st 2 chicks out of the incubator as they were wreaking havoc trying to get around, especially #1 the black one.

 

[AmyLynn2374]

Thanks! I am a little concerned because there are 2 that were not pipped last night making more progress than this egg...Chick is moving and chirping though....

I had to take the 1st 2 chicks out of the incubator as they were wreaking havoc trying to get around, especially #1 the black one.

I don't leave mine in the incubator. Once they are up and bouncing all over the place I move them to the brooder especially if there are more than two and as long as I don't have a chick trying to hatch out. I have a little giant and there is just not enough room for them to be playing tag. I had one chip his beak, I think on my thermometer when they were all pushing and jumping around. There was about 7 of them in there. He's fine now, no lasting effects, but seeing the blood and the chip to his beak made me decide I wasn't having that many bouncing around in there.

Sometimes a chick will pip but won't be ready for the rest and hatches later than chicks that pipped later. As long as he sounds strong and is moving he'll probably be out in his own time. If he starts sounding weak or looks like he is gasping through the pip hole, or the membrane starts going dry around him (brownish/yellow) then it may be time to intervine, but use that as a last resort. If you haven't checked out the assisted hatching page, give taht a read while you wait. Great info there: https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/step-by-step-guide-to-assisted-hatching

 

[cafrhe]

Ok, chick #4 has hatched, another black chick. Chick #3 is giving it a go and will probably hatch soon. 2 more are pipped. 3 eggs that looked developed havent pipped yet.