Made a big mistake with my hatch!

[Thistledown]

A while back I tried to hatch out some of my Cochin eggs in my homemade incubator. (i had tried some dorking eggs previously and killed them all

) By day23 there was no action at all, so I shut the thing down and surmised I must have had the humidity too high. I was too disheartened to do an eggtopsy.
This time I have been meticulous with marking, weighing and graphing my eggs progress and everything has been right on target. So now on day 22, without a single pip, in frustration I decided to open one and see what the heck was going on - assuming all the eggs were dead.
I opened the egg and the chick was alive, moving around! I am completely devastated.
Here is what I found: air cell looks fine, moisture seemed ok (no shrink wrapping or anything) and the beak was tucked under the wing in proper position, but no sign of having tried to pip. Also there was a fair amount of yolk still present.
What could be going on? Do cochins take a super long time to hatch? Should I keep waiting and hope I didn't do the eggs any harm by opening the incubator?
I am feeling a little sick right now and am not sure what to do

 

[smithnan]

Well if the heat is a little on the low side, it takes a little longer to hatch anyway, and 22 days is not really late for hatch. I would just be sure not to open it again and give it a couple more days.

 

[Thistledown]

I wondered if that might be the case. Also I just read on line that very large breeds might take an extra day to hatch.Too bad I didn't read that before opening the incubator!
Thank you for the advice!

 

[howfunkyisurchicken]

My LF Cochins take 21 days to hatch just like my other breeds (unless I have a temp issue). If your eggs are consistently late, that indicates to me that your temperature is low. I'd suggest calibrating all of your instruments, thermometers and hygrometers, and give it another go. If you have a 'bator with a digital readout, definitely pick up at least one more therm and hygro to check it against. Mine is more than 3 degrees off!

If your instruments are incorrect, your hatch will always pretty much be doomed from the start. Better luck next time, practice makes perfect!

 

[smithnan]

Hey thistle down, how did it go?

 

[Thistledown]

I lost them all. I waited til day 23 just in case then opened 3. They were all the same - reasonable amount of moisture in the egg ( no shrink wrap, etc), chicks in position, but all still containing a fair amount of yolk. I can't figure it out - everything seemed to be going perfectly! What a terrible feeling!

(thank you for asking

)

 

[smithnan]

I'm sorry to hear that.

 

[howfunkyisurchicken]

Sorry to hear you lost them, please read my previous response. It seems like a simple thing, but inaccurate instruments are one of the biggest reasons for failed hatches!