June Hatch A Long

[CluckNDoodle]

Yup you have to wait for him to attempt to pip or for the veining to go away enough that you can try and turn him in the egg to get his head towards the top. Sometimes their feet are over their head too so don't count out the head being at the top he may surprise you.

Since you brought this up, I hope you don't mind if I pick your brain about malpositions as well. One of the chicks that I lost in my last hatch had very full blood vessels, was malpositioned, and from what I could tell wasn't in a position that it could pip anywhere. I typically would make a small hole between vessels as close to the beak as I can get once the vessels are a bit thinner but it just wasn't happening with that one and in my hesitation, I lost it. Do you never assist malpositions that haven't attempted pipping or have you just not encountered that yet?

 

[LilyD]

Since you brought this up, I hope you don't mind if I pick your brain about malpositions as well. One of the chicks that I lost in my last hatch had very full blood vessels, was malpositioned, and from what I could tell wasn't in a position that it could pip anywhere. I typically would make a small hole between vessels as close to the beak as I can get once the vessels are a bit thinner but it just wasn't happening with that one and in my hesitation, I lost it. Do you never assist malpositions that haven't attempted pipping or have you just not encountered that yet?

If they are still moving post day 23 and haven't made an attempt at hatching I would do the same thing as for a regular internally pipped chick. Make a safety hole in the air cell and widen it to see the blood vessels. If they are very big I would keep oiling with the coconut oil and wait for the blood to recede. By freeing up the air cell side sometimes that is all they need to be able to turn enough so I can see the beak. Then if it's away from the vessels or you can see a clear hole that you could pip through, you can make an internal pip through the membrane for them and guide the beak towards it so they can breathe then just assist as you normally would. If I can't see the beak at all I would wait for the blood to recede and then would open from that end once it was safe and try and turn the chick slightly to get the beak and head free so it can breathe. These types of assists tend to have a much higher mortality rate though than if they internally pip on their own.

 

[Bookworm0124]

I’m going to forever be the optimist after this hatch. So many eggs I thought were behind in development or not right are hatching.

I would not count 4 out. Is there any movement at all in 15?

I do not see movement in 15, and I don't see veins :-/ it may have been an early quitters. I brought 6 in from my hen, two of which I'm not positive about. Oooooh she was mad at me

 

[Bookworm0124]

I would agree 13 and 15 are quitters should be mostly black by now.

That's what I thought. Thank you for he opinions

 

[Mixed flock enthusiast]

Hi @LilyD, I’d love your thoughts on our hatch, which went quite poorly. I’m trying to learn so I can do better with our next hatch. In retrospect, I wish I’d kept the eggs in the incubator to hatch so I could have assisted, though I had thought that the OE eggs were doing well and unlikely to need assistance. Two were in the beak over right wing malposition and did not internally pip. When I started trying to help on day 21 they had already passed. My clue that I would have needed to intervene earlier was that the healthy chicks hatched at the beginning of Day 20. It was a few days back that I posted the following...

Final stats: started with 12 shipped BCM eggs and 7 home bred OE, from a hen that we successfully hatched eggs from last month but unproven young rooster. In the end, we ended up with one pullet and one cockerel OE. Of the 12 shipped eggs, 2 were early deaths, 8 mid way deaths, and 2 late deaths. One late death was probably about day 17. One was fully developed and in proper position but failed to internally pip. Both had malformed air cells. Of the 7 OEs, 1 was infertile, 1 was set late and had a loose aircell (did not give it time to cool and develop the aircell). Of the six fertile, 2 hatched at the beginning of day 20. Two were autolyzed (rotten, this includes the set late egg) on day 21, and two were in the “beak over right wing” malposition. I’ve read a little on this malposition, and it can be a “normal variant”, it can occur in rounder eggs (our CCL does lay round eggs), and can be due to hot incubation temps. Given that this hen just gave us 2/2 chicks a month ago, and that the survivors hatched a day early, I think that I need to consider my incubator being too hot. I do have a calibrated probe and it’s shown me that I have hot and cold spots. I tried to compensate by moving the eggs twice a day, and the average probe temp was 99.7, but I think I should turn the temp down 0.5 F for the guinea eggs that still have 2 weeks to go. Thanks everyone for all of your help and support. I’ll post pics of Naruto with her chicks once she decides to leave her nest!

 

[jolenesdad]

The non pipped egg has shown its beak at the top of the air cell. So I intervened too soon? There’s lots of veins, but it’s chirping and trying to pip. I felt for sure it was upside down since so many were, so I have a large hole on the side of the air cell.

It must have needed to wait, but now Ive already intervened. I’ll keep watching it but a little concerned I’ve encouraged and early pip...we will see.

 

[jolenesdad]

Mid hatch count:

Lockdown with 30.

5 DIS:
4 in shell quitters
One external pip (bottom) quitter (...before I dove in head first)

16 hatched
3 assisted hatches
13 normal hatches

Pending
2 normal hatchers, no help expected ... have externally pipped.
7 “ICU” patients. One that maybe didn’t need to be.

 

[Mixed flock enthusiast]

Mid hatch count:

Lockdown with 30.

5 DIS:
4 in shell quitters
One external pip (bottom) quitter (...before I dove in head first)

16 hatched
3 assisted hatches
13 normal hatches

Pending
2 normal hatchers, no help expected ... have externally pipped.
7 “ICU” patients. One that maybe didn’t need to be.

Sounds like it’s going well for all of the malpositions! Do I remember correctly that some eggs were shipped and some local?

 

[jolenesdad]

Sounds like it’s going well for all of the malpositions! Do I remember correctly that some eggs were shipped and some local?

Yes. But then is couple of these malpositions are not shipped.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

It could be an interesting theme of the month of hot spots? I’m gonna do testing on that in the future and I can come back to this. But they’re from all over the incubator and local and not.

The only thing I can see being similar so far and this is BLOWING my mind, is that they are I think all eggs incubated on their SIDES. What? I thought that was supposed to be best for ducks?

 

[jolenesdad]

Ugh. I just had a sticky chick. Covered in sticky foo clearly couldn’t move. Now, it’s in a bow though, because it had the teeniest tiniest yolk left. :-(

Cross your fingers for that guy. I kept proceeding through the funk and he didn’t want to move and I thought I was running out of time. . . But he was still absorbing.