Jan./Feb. 2014 hatch a long

[JesNflock]

What silkie said, and man, I'm loving that blue egg! Have to see the baby when it hatches.

Thanks! I will def post pics!!

good job!

give it time and keep us updated

Thanks! and thanks for the info...I'm not much of a "freaker" but it didn't seem right after all that zipping to slow down so much. I figured I would ask some experts!

 

[JesNflock]

have 2 babies out and two pipped so far....so excited!

YaY!!! Now the fun really begins! lol

 

[Cynthia12]

YaY!!! Now the fun really begins! lol

Come on chickies. I will never get tired of cheering them on.

 

[KuroKitsune]

4 babies out but 1st baby keeps falling over onto its back and cant get back over very well...dont know whats wrong cause he'she seems fine otherwise

 

[AmericanMom]

3rd egg has pipped, the one that pipped this morning has pushed its shell a bit but still cant see it...LOL... I believe its purposely doing this because it knows I'll keep going in every ten min to check...Its been a LONG day... Going to get the brooder set up because even if it hatches tonight it wont be ready to be removed til tomorrow morning or so Got about 6 of those little eggs rocking around and def chirps and taps!!

 

[JesNflock]

4 babies out but 1st baby keeps falling over onto its back and cant get back over very well...dont know whats wrong cause he'she seems fine otherwise

I had a few of mine do that, but after a while they were able to get up really well, and now they run around all over each other! Still have one that just can't get up, but we'll see how that one does

 

[SilkieSensation]

 
hmm that does look crusty... keep in mind that if we operate on this egg, the other remaining eggs might also need help (drying out due to opening) but since so few eggs are left, I think I would open it personally... get the bathroom super hot and high humidity, run the shower for 10ish minutes (I also have a space heater in the bathroom), get a warm wet cloth to wrap it in. sterile tweezers, hand sanitizer for yourself

I would moisten the area around the zip with antibiotic ointment (without pain reliever) OR you can also use warm water (sterile, boiled but not boiling hot) and a q-tip... to me it looks crusted on/stuck... so you need to moisten the exposed areas all around the shell. the AB ointment/neosporin will keep it moist for hours while it waits. the water can dry out over a few hours, so you  might have to re-wet in that case.

depending on how long it's been since it started zipping, you might put it back and wait longer, or help it zip a little bit more..how far zipped around is it? when did the zip start?

here is the detailed information on intervention, good read: https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/9316/intervention-helping-your-chicks-hatch

Ok so it was really dry in the front of the zip...luckily it had actually zipped about 3/4 of the circumference of the shell so I moistened it a lot( without drowning it. the back was nice and moist the front is REALLY dry..I added the neosporine after moistening it a bunch then I put it back in the bator with a damp paper towel around it. I willl keep a close eye on it and if it doesn't finish hatching soon I will try moistening it again

4 babies out but 1st baby keeps falling over onto its back and cant get back over very well...dont know whats wrong cause he'she seems fine otherwise

Jes: If it hasn't made progress within an hour or so of the moistening you may need to finish the zip (just start where baby stopped & press gently with your thumbnail to crack the shell the rest of the way around). If gently loosening the lid of the egg doesn't help baby realize it's no longer stuck you may need to chip a little of the shell away in the crusty area, wet the membrane down well & actually scrape the crusty part away from baby as it softens. Again, fingernail & warm tap water will work as long as hands & water are clean. Once baby is completely loose from the membrane, as long as nothing else is wrong with it, it should be able to kick right out of the shell. I've had them kick out right in my hand as the membrane came loose many times. If you wait too long, baby will exhaust itself & not have the strength left to kick free. As long as there is no blood left in the membrane the baby is fine to be freed quickly. If you see blood, return baby to the bator for a couple hours & then try again.

Kuro: That's actually pretty common in the first 24 hours. Once it learns to balance it should be fine. It will be running all over before you know it.

 

[JesNflock]

3rd egg has pipped, the one that pipped this morning has pushed its shell a bit but still cant see it...LOL... I believe its purposely doing this because it knows I'll keep going in every ten min to check...Its been a LONG day... Going to get the brooder set up because even if it hatches tonight it wont be ready to be removed til tomorrow morning or so Got about 6 of those little eggs rocking around and def chirps and taps!!

Gotta love "Chick TV" huh!?!?! lol I slept a total of 6 hours the last 2 days because I just could not check on them lol

 

[AmericanMom]

Gotta love "Chick TV" huh!?!?! lol I slept a total of 6 hours the last 2 days because I just could not check on them lol

That sounds about like me... I tried to set myself on a timer, once an hour today...I failed within the first ten Min....Maybe it is better to be away from home!!

 

[JesNflock]

If it hasn't made progress within an hour or so of the moistening you may need to finish the zip (just start where baby stopped & press gently with your thumbnail to crack the shell the rest of the way around). If gently loosening the lid of the egg doesn't help baby realize it's no longer stuck you may need to chip a little of the shell away in the crusty area, wet the membrane down well & actually scrape the crusty part away from baby as it softens. Again, fingernail & warm tap water will work as long as hands & water are clean. Once baby is completely loose from the membrane, as long as nothing else is wrong with it, it should be able to kick right out of the shell. I've had them kick out right in my hand as the membrane came loose many times. If you wait too long, baby will exhaust itself & not have the strength left to kick free. As long as there is no blood left in the membrane the baby is fine to be freed quickly. If you see blood, return baby to the bator for a couple hours & then try again.

I forgot to say that I did end up zipping it totally (Since it was having an issue, and I didn't want to not do it and end up just having to do it later) I moistened the crustiest part quite a bit, but it's beak was nearest to that part (actually had crusty stuck to it's beak which I got off) so I wasn't able to get the shell off in that area for fear of ripping off membrane also. There isn't any blood in the membrane that I saw(even at the back where there was lots of intact membrane) The worst part for me is to decide when I should go back and do more for it if it doesn't break free soon. It did kinda push the top of the egg up some, but hasn't tried to kick free yet...I'm sure it's exhausted. Thanks for your input it's greatly appreciated.