Quote:
I had absolutely NO IDEA what I was doing outside of the help from everyone on this thread, and I seemed to have succeeded (she's screaming at me from the brooder now to be picked up!), so I think you can do it if you are careful. Follow everyone's instructions....
As an afterthought. Chicks will often sit and wait after they have breached the shell to absorb the yolk fully. It can take as long as 10 hours to absorb the yolk. That's why i wait 10 hours. Even if there is a little blood while you are cracking the chick should be fine as long as the yolk sack has been absorbed fully. A bit of blood is normal if the membrane is still moist and hasn't dried out too much. Keep the cord attached to whatever half of the shell and set both the chick and eggshell back in the bator until dry.
This is exactly what I did. The yolk was absorbed, as far as I could tell, and there was a little blood. I waited for a bit and went back (didn't think I'd be awake, but my 2-year-old saw to that) in a little bit and finished the job. There was only a little blood and I left her in the incubator attached to the umbilical the rest of the night to rest. When my 4-year-old woke her up in the morning she ran about a bit and broke the umbilical.
I had absolutely NO IDEA what I was doing outside of the help from everyone on this thread, and I seemed to have succeeded (she's screaming at me from the brooder now to be picked up!), so I think you can do it if you are careful. Follow everyone's instructions....
As an afterthought. Chicks will often sit and wait after they have breached the shell to absorb the yolk fully. It can take as long as 10 hours to absorb the yolk. That's why i wait 10 hours. Even if there is a little blood while you are cracking the chick should be fine as long as the yolk sack has been absorbed fully. A bit of blood is normal if the membrane is still moist and hasn't dried out too much. Keep the cord attached to whatever half of the shell and set both the chick and eggshell back in the bator until dry.
This is exactly what I did. The yolk was absorbed, as far as I could tell, and there was a little blood. I waited for a bit and went back (didn't think I'd be awake, but my 2-year-old saw to that) in a little bit and finished the job. There was only a little blood and I left her in the incubator attached to the umbilical the rest of the night to rest. When my 4-year-old woke her up in the morning she ran about a bit and broke the umbilical.
