january hatch-a-long

[muddy75]

I had 1 external pip that I could see this am. no major progress but I can still see its little beak working on it! a second appeared to be rolling its egg around this evening so will hopefully have some chicks out by morning!!

 

[Kiki]

sounds logical to me but honestly no idea? maybe some of our more experienced hatchers can better answer that! @WVduckchick @Texas Kiki

Label the eggs now so you don't get them mixed up.
Can any other birds get in there to lay?

 

[WVduckchick]

So, as I posted earlier, my Silkie went broody and Saturday I gave her 4 Serama eggs which should be fertile. This morning I picked her up and put her near the water to make sure she drinks which she did. While she was off the nest, I noticed there were 5 eggs. So between Saturday and this morning, she laid one herself. This one is not fertile (no roo involved) I'm thinking that this one was already in the process of forming when she went broody and therefore had to complete its journey. Does that sound right?

Sometimes they keep laying until they get as many as they want. Like Kiki said, mark the fertile ones you gave her. I mark the fat end with a sharpie (pencil will rub off) and the fat end is the easiest place to always look for the mark.

I had 1 external pip that I could see this am. no major progress but I can still see its little beak working on it! a second appeared to be rolling its egg around this evening so will hopefully have some chicks out by morning!!

 

[WVduckchick]

Oh and @Ginmary let her keep a few of the duds for a few more days, then remove them once she is settled in for keeps.
Broodies can be fickle.

 

[muddy75]

I’m trying so hard to sit on my hands right now and not get over-neurotic.....I just now realized that my pipper has externally pipped the wrong (small) end of the egg!! I still see movement at the pip but not sure if it is beak or foot! I don’t want to try to assist this early because of risk to the others and high probability that it has not completely absorbed yet. my thought is to continue monitoring until the 24hour mark??? Any other/additional advice is welcome!!

 

[WVduckchick]

I’m trying so hard to sit on my hands right now and not get over-neurotic.....I just now realized that my pipper has externally pipped the wrong (small) end of the egg!! I still see movement at the pip but not sure if it is beak or foot! I don’t want to try to assist this early because of risk to the others and high probability that it has not completely absorbed yet. my thought is to continue monitoring until the 24hour mark??? Any other/additional advice is welcome!!

It’s kind of a gut call, but keep in mind that when they pip outside the air cell, it’s basically and internal and external at the same time, since they would usually be doing so into the air cell first. So sometimes those can take longer to progress.
Also they have a good chance of hatching on their own, but the further toward the tip seems to be more critical and difficult for them to turn properly.
I’d just keep a close eye on the activity level, and watch for any signs of distress.

 

[Kiki]

I’m trying so hard to sit on my hands right now and not get over-neurotic.....I just now realized that my pipper has externally pipped the wrong (small) end of the egg!! I still see movement at the pip but not sure if it is beak or foot! I don’t want to try to assist this early because of risk to the others and high probability that it has not completely absorbed yet. my thought is to continue monitoring until the 24hour mark??? Any other/additional advice is welcome!!

I would wait.
Just wait and watch for now.

 

[Ginmary]

Sometimes they keep laying until they get as many as they want. Like Kiki said, mark the fertile ones you gave her. I mark the fat end with a sharpie (pencil will rub off) and the fat end is the easiest place to always look for the mark.

No chance getting the eggs confused. The fertile ones are white Serama eggs and the smaller of the two serama egg sizes that I get. My broody is a silkie who lays much larger beige eggs which are not fertile. I do have the eggs marked.
I’m concerned about her eating and drinking. She is crazy glued to the nest. I have put some treats in with her but it is hard to do that with the water.
Thanks for the advice from all. We are away till Wednesday nite so if I find more of her eggs I will know that it is normal.

 

[WVduckchick]

I just checked my call duck eggs, day 7, I have 12 eggs going strong!

 

[muddy75]

It’s kind of a gut call, but keep in mind that when they pip outside the air cell, it’s basically and internal and external at the same time, since they would usually be doing so into the air cell first. So sometimes those can take longer to progress.
Also they have a good chance of hatching on their own, but the further toward the tip seems to be more critical and difficult for them to turn properly.
I’d just keep a close eye on the activity level, and watch for any signs of distress.

I would wait.
Just wait and watch for now.

Thanks so much for the reassurance!! I got my misting bottle ready to go just in case I have to open incubator before hatching complete.....