JUNE - JULY HATCH-ALONG!!!!!!!

[CluckNDoodle]

**Warning! Graphic picture!!!**
Keet was dead when I woke up, so I broke away shell in hopes of learning something. I did not have clear criteria to assist so first am trying to understand whether it was doomed because malpositioned or whether I intervened too early and it would have gotten into position eventually if I had not intervened. I believe it was malpositioned in “head between thighs” with beak positioned facing narrow end of shell. Is this position why chicks pip the narrow end of the shell? I think that chicks are in a similar position before they are ready to hatch (day 19 chick), but with beak turned up towards air cell? There were still unabsorbed vessels around chick, most of yolk was absorbed. So, is this a malposition that couldn’t hatch (thus the panicky vibe I was getting from the rapid, shallow fluttery actions when I candled) or was it too young and would have turned to hatch if I had left it alone? *warning, graphic pic!* This is a pic from the side, beak is towards the narrow end of egg.

I'm sorry it didn't work out! I'm fairly certain when I encounter that malpositon they never pip. I want to say I've had 3 and 1 made it with assist but it's not something I keep notes on. Maybe I should.
I hate to explain this but the intermittent shaking motion starts when the chick starts to suffocate and it usually only seen for a very short period right before passing away. I've seen it when not acting fast enough and learned the hard way.
You've had a wonderful hatch regardless of the difficulties! How many eggs are still left in the incubator?

 

[jolenesdad]

No external pip. I maybe helped it prematurely or unnecessarily...

**Warning! Graphic picture!!!**
Keet was dead when I woke up, so I broke away shell in hopes of learning something. I did not have clear criteria to assist so first am trying to understand whether it was doomed because malpositioned or whether I intervened too early and it would have gotten into position eventually if I had not intervened. I believe it was malpositioned in “head between thighs” with beak positioned facing narrow end of shell. Is this position why chicks pip the narrow end of the shell? I think that chicks are in a similar position before they are ready to hatch (day 19 chick), but with beak turned up towards air cell? There were still unabsorbed vessels around chick, most of yolk was absorbed. So, is this a malposition that couldn’t hatch (thus the panicky vibe I was getting from the rapid, shallow fluttery actions when I candled) or was it too young and would have turned to hatch if I had left it alone? *warning, graphic pic!* This is a pic from the side, beak is towards the narrow end of egg.

I’m so sorry, bummer. Pretty sure you were doing everything right and didn’t intervene too early and that is one of the worst and least successful malpositions but I’ll be anxious to hear other replies.

 

[Mixed flock enthusiast]

I'm sorry it didn't work out! I'm fairly certain when I encounter that malpositon they never pip. I want to say I've had 3 and 1 made it with assist but it's not something I keep notes on. Maybe I should.
I hate to explain this but the intermittent shaking motion starts when the chick starts to suffocate and it usually only seen for a very short period right before passing away. I've seen it when not acting fast enough and learned the hard way.
You've had a wonderful hatch regardless of the difficulties! How many eggs are still left in the incubator?

Thanks for looking at that sad pic! When we collected eggs from the botched nest 10 days ago, we placed the most contaminated eggs upright in egg cartons, attempting to limit the spread of bacteria encrusted gunk. As of Thursday night, I had two upright incubated, egg carton eggs left. Both looked odd Thursday (I thought internally pipped but now I think that with this DIS keet I was seeing it’s wing pushing into the air cell as it struggled). Since the one had died by Friday and other looked “panicky”, I guess I was right to intervene. I was afraid to do more last night because of all the vessels, but I guess I’ll keep going if I encounter this malposition again since it looks like they die without freeing the beak so it can breathe.

I have five eggs left. Three could hatch at any time and two still look days away. I say “hatch at any time” but really these eggs are losers in life’s sweepstakes and may not hatch. These eggs have all been in lockdown in a dirty incubator for 10 days!!! I’ve tried to turn four of them that I knew were earlier, but none have been normally turned in these 10 days and average humidity has been 65%. That’s a lot of strikes against them! I expect more malpositions and dead in shell eggs, but I don’t want to pull the plug on them without giving them a chance. This has been an incredible marathon hatch - I am so ready for this hatch to be done!!! I really really want to clean that incubator!!!

 

[Mixed flock enthusiast]

I’m so sorry, bummer. Pretty sure you were doing everything right and didn’t intervene too early and that is one of the worst and least successful malpositions but I’ll be anxious to hear other replies.

Yeah, it’s head seemed tightly wedged into the narrow end of the shell. Guinea eggs are triangular or pyramid shaped, so the narrow end is really narrow... I’m not seeing how it could have gotten it’s beak out of that position. Really, the eggs carton eggs did better than I expected, more than 1/2 of them hatched! Pretty good when they were so heavily contaminated that we considered just burying them, and considering that they had incubated on their side all that time, then were positioned upright to hatch. Although it’s a bummer, I do (selfishly) feel better that there wasn’t much more I could have done for this keet...

 

[Compost King]

I had 3 eggs that I was curious as to why they didn't hatch. My jumbo sized eggs that had Ayam Cemani x Red Rangers inside. They were still alive and I basically killed them. However I discovered that they still had a significant amount of yolk left. Had I waited a day or 2 they likely would have hatched. These eggs do have giant yolks and it probably takes them longer to finish up their Embryo food before they start pipping. The Embryos inside were huge though, bigger than the 2 that hatched out last night. I am guessing yolk size can determine chick size in certain circumstances. Next time I hatch out eggs from this hen I am going 2 days beyond hatch day. This was the first time I opened a non pipped egg. I figured they were dead or struggling to pip but now I believe they just wanted to finish up their yolks before they came out. Time to clean up and prepare the August hatch.

 

[CluckNDoodle]

I had 3 eggs that I was curious as to why they didn't hatch. My jumbo sized eggs that had Ayam Cemani x Red Rangers inside. They were still alive and I basically killed them. However I discovered that they still had a significant amount of yolk left. Had I waited a day or 2 they likely would have hatched. These eggs do have giant yolks and it probably takes them longer to finish up their Embryo food before they start pipping. The Embryos inside were huge though, bigger than the 2 that hatched out last night. I am guessing yolk size can determine chick size in certain circumstances. Next time I hatch out eggs from this hen I am going 2 days beyond hatch day. This was the first time I opened a non pipped egg. I figured they were dead or struggling to pip but now I believe they just wanted to finish up their yolks before they came out. Time to clean up and prepare the August hatch.

I do the same and always double check eggs before giving up on them. A couple were pretty gross this time because the had quit days before lockdown but I would rather check than toss a viable chick. I've made it a habit to do eggtopsies like I'm going into assist so that if the chick does happen to be alive it still has a chance.

 

[Mixed flock enthusiast]

I had 3 eggs that I was curious as to why they didn't hatch. My jumbo sized eggs that had Ayam Cemani x Red Rangers inside. They were still alive and I basically killed them. However I discovered that they still had a significant amount of yolk left. Had I waited a day or 2 they likely would have hatched. These eggs do have giant yolks and it probably takes them longer to finish up their Embryo food before they start pipping. The Embryos inside were huge though, bigger than the 2 that hatched out last night. I am guessing yolk size can determine chick size in certain circumstances. Next time I hatch out eggs from this hen I am going 2 days beyond hatch day. This was the first time I opened a non pipped egg. I figured they were dead or struggling to pip but now I believe they just wanted to finish up their yolks before they came out. Time to clean up and prepare the August hatch.

Sound like a successful hatch overall - Congratulations!!! I’ve wondered about the relationship between egg/yolk size and chick size. For instance, we have a small silkie hen that bred with a full sized Easter Egger rooster and had fertile eggs. She lays tiny eggs though, and I worried about a large hybrid chick trying to develop in her tiny egg? So I didn’t incubate those...

 

[Compost King]

Sound like a successful hatch overall - Congratulations!!! I’ve wondered about the relationship between egg/yolk size and chick size. For instance, we have a small silkie hen that bred with a full sized Easter Egger rooster and had fertile eggs. She lays tiny eggs though, and I worried about a large hybrid chick trying to develop in her tiny egg? So I didn’t incubate those...

I just went out to deliver eggs to some friends and I put some thought into egg yolk size too. The chicks that pipped early the mother hens have a fairly large egg but a tiny yolk. Maybe that has something to do with why they pipped 2 days early. Funny thing is the large yolked egg was laid by their maternal grandmother.
I also put some time into thinking if large egg yolks are why Meat Birds tend to be hatched at a different hatchery than egg birds. I am not sure who brought it up or if it was brought up in this thread or another thread in a different section but someone recently told me about how meat birds hatched at a meat bird specific hatching facility are going to turn out better. Likely it was @jolenesdad because his avatar is popping up in my head as I think this. Also he has been doing a lot of researching and sharing lately. Maybe having a larger yolks leads to either longer or warmer hatches, or the humidity needs to be slightly different. I don't know exactly but I am starting to put pieces of this puzzle together.

 

[Rockporters]

Yeah, it’s head seemed tightly wedged into the narrow end of the shell. Guinea eggs are triangular or pyramid shaped, so the narrow end is really narrow... I’m not seeing how it could have gotten it’s beak out of that position. Really, the eggs carton eggs did better than I expected, more than 1/2 of them hatched! Pretty good when they were so heavily contaminated that we considered just burying them, and considering that they had incubated on their side all that time, then were positioned upright to hatch. Although it’s a bummer, I do (selfishly) feel better that there wasn’t much more I could have done for this keet...

It’s hard, I’m sorry. I haven’t had much luck if needing to go far to find the beak. Sometimes there is only so much you can do.

Do you have any left to hatch still?

 

[crazychickenlady55]

I’m on day 20. Mama is waiting patiently. I am not!