Do you mind sharing with me what your silkie breeder said about heat & humidity. Pretty certain that the second egg to pip out the side sufficated. I could see it directly below the big vent hole most of the day trying to get its beak thru the membrane. It hasn't moved since late this afternoon. This evening I put a pencil down the vent hole & touched the tip of the beak that was visible under the membrane. There was no movement of the beak like earlier. I should have found something thin enough to break a hole in the membrane, but I was afraid it would start bleeding with being pipped in the side of the egg![]()
She runs close to 100 degrees, 55 % humidity for 1-18 and 65% no more at lockdown. She is in Fl.
I think the problem with the lower pip is they mean to pip internally and instead go through the linings and the shell before their blood vessels retract. It was odd though because I did have several pip low and they were just fine...maybe because it's a day 21 hatch. However, I did lose one from Monday's hatch that pipped late and he did go through a blood vessel.
I have four left in the incubator that have no pips...holding out hope they hatch. But, those big Orpington eggs threw out so much humidity it sent me to 80%. So, hopefully no one is drowning in their egg either.
I have large wooden skewers that I can shove through the vent holes to raise hell in my incubator if necessary...they work.Sometimes I tape a q tip on them with antibiotic ointment to see a membrane clearer and keep it from drying out if nothing is going on. I also have a few extra air holes in there but nothing a little duct tape can't fix! LOL
It's such a delicate science to this...