March 7th hatch along. Newbie :)

[SimoneG]

My silkie hatch of march 18th isn't going so well. Set 13 eggs and1st time candled at 7 days lost 4 that weren't fertile. The other 9 looked ok. I've had trouble with my humidity and the egg turner. Fixed the turner rright off but have been fighting the humidity. One died in the shell. 5 have hatched but 3 haven't. I would discard them but i can hear them pecking at the shell. I've been trying to hear exactly where they are going to pip but can't pinpoint. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

oh no Hopefully someone has ideas. this is my first time so I'm open to learning. I keep being told to never help a chick out of the shell but that seems cruel if they are trying and just tuckered out.

 

[pasuit]

oh no Hopefully someone has ideas. this is my first time so I'm open to learning. I keep being told to never help a chick out of the shell but that seems cruel if they are trying and just tuckered out.

 

[pasuit]

I don't recommend it. Sometimes they will die in the shell if you do. It's very, very hard to do without injuring the chick. If the umbilical cord breaks it will bleed to death. You have to be able to determine if it will be able to do itself. I've lost some and saved some. By the way welcome to BYC.

 

[Hatch me if you can]

My silkie hatch of march 18th isn't going so well. Set 13 eggs and1st time candled at 7 days lost 4 that weren't fertile. The other 9 looked ok. I've had trouble with my humidity and the egg turner. Fixed the turner rright off but have been fighting the humidity. One died in the shell. 5 have hatched but 3 haven't. I would discard them but i can hear them pecking at the shell. I've been trying to hear exactly where they are going to pip but can't pinpoint. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

I would give them time. And leave them be. After years of "helping" I decided to just let nature take its course and found that most if still alive will hatch. Sometimes I have a 3-4 day difference from first hatch, (out of shell not pip), to last hatch. All of the excitement made me open the bator and handle the eggs; both of which will decrease humidity and roll the chick inside from their optimal location to pip from. This makes them more stressed and work harder to reposition. Sometimes it's enough to stop the process completely. Keep calm... it very hard to do but they have alot of work to do all crunched up inside there.

 

[Hatch me if you can]

I candled at day 10 but I'm not confidant enough to remove eggs. going to check again this saturday when I take out the turners. Does anyone else have a hard time seeing in the blue eggs? they seem to be a lot thicker than even the brown eggs.

On the darker eggs I go by the air cell. A good light will give you that. For future hatches take a picture of the candling on the first day setting and reference it each time you candle after that. There are also people who weigh their eggs and record the loss to make sure it is consistent with the optimal % of loss. It is a pretty exact and detailed way of doing it but some love that part of hatching.

 

[pasuit]

I would give them time. And leave them be. After years of "helping" I decided to just let nature take its course and found that most if still alive will hatch. Sometimes I have a 3-4 day difference from first hatch, (out of shell not pip), to last hatch. All of the excitement made me open the bator and handle the eggs; both of which will decrease humidity and roll the chick inside from their optimal location to pip from. This makes them more stressed and work harder to reposition. Sometimes it's enough to stop the process completely. Keep calm... it very hard to do but they have alot of work to do all crunched up inside there.

 

[pasuit]

I thought the same thing. Since they didn't pip at all they died in their shell. It couldn't be helped. Thanks for your concern.

 

[Hatch me if you can]

1 still in the bator drying off 1 piped and 1 still waiting on a pip. But the rest are here! 21 out of 24 made it to day 18.

 

[SimoneG]

So I have 2 pips this morning but they aren't at the right end of the shell. Will they still hatch? Is there something I did wrong?

 

[Hatch me if you can]

So I have 2 pips this morning but they aren't at the right end of the shell. Will they still hatch? Is there something I did wrong?

It looks as though your eggs were incubated on their sides. During the incubation the embryo will move to the most optimal location to hatch. For them that could be the pointy end of the egg. If the egg is pipped then it can get air and will hatch just fine usually. A slight angle with the big end up will correct this in future hatches. Congrats on the pip!! It's the most stressful and exciting part. Stay close and enjoy the show. Keeping the lights dim or off seems to speed up the process. (They think momma is covering them up and feel safe to emerge). Good luck!