Need help please! :)

[rays22]

Hello Everyone! I'm so happy t have found this site! I need help fast! I don't know if I should intervene or not. I am a newbie I admit. OK, I have 3 silkie eggs. They are all 21 days.Two are starting to hatch. The one is question, I noticed at 1 a.m. (PT) this morning that there was a pip chip to the egg. The egg has been kind of rolling back and forth all day. I noticed that there has not been any progress with the chip's size and that it is ONLY the actual egg shell, not the white outer membrane. There is no slit or anything. Now, the other one has a slit/ship and I can see the little beak slipping in and out. This only started at around 12 p.m. today. It is now 5:05 p.m. PT time. Do I need to make a slit on the one with only a chip to it? Can the baby breathe. Sometimes, I can hear a faint chirping. Is it in distress? Just an fyi, I'm using the Rcom pro mini my daughter received as a b-day gift. Thank you soo much in advance.... ))

 

[FarmerMac]

What is your temperature and humidity level. If your humidity is low, they will have a hard time hatching. The membrane may shrink and wrap around the chick preventing it from moving around to crak the egg shell.

 

[rays22]

Thanks for your reply It's an automatic incubator (meaning you select the type of critter (chicken, duck, etc) and the temp is 37 (98.6) and I'm not sure of the humidity, but the other egg is doing fine and it's right next to it.

 

[AmyLynn2374]

Thanks for your reply It's an automatic incubator (meaning you select the type of critter (chicken, duck, etc) and the temp is 37 (98.6) and I'm not sure of the humidity, but the other egg is doing fine and it's right next to it.

Monitoring humidity will help a lot in future, especially at hatch because the humidity needs to be raised to provide optimal conditions for all the eggs. Some chicks are stronger than others and can persever in less than optimal conditions where others won't. I usually would say if your humidity is up (around 70% or better) and you want to make sure he's getting air, go for it. (I'm a meddler myself and open the bator duing hatch, but I keep my humidity up to 75%.) Not knowing what your humidity is makes it a little harder, and would have to be a judgement call on your part on wether you open and make a hole to the membrane. Often times there is one there all ready that is impossible to see. I would do this: (If you can) play this video at the incubator:

Usually it will motivate the pippers and you'll be able to see the beak at the hole. If that doesn't motivate him to break through the membrane, then if you are comfortable with doing so quickly extract the egg, carefully pull the membrane aside and get the egg back in the bator. (This is an excellent video to keep them zipping once they start too.)

Good luck and keep us updated!

 

[rays22]

Thank you for this! I'm going to set up my comp next to it. When you say peel back, do you mean like make a small incision with a pair of tweezers and then peel it back? Thank you so much and I really appreciate all the feedback and help Nice "peeps" here!

 

[AmyLynn2374]

Thank you for this! I'm going to set up my comp next to it. When you say peel back, do you mean like make a small incision with a pair of tweezers and then peel it back? Thank you so much and I really appreciate all the feedback and help Nice "peeps" here!

That's what I do when I am concerned whether there's an opening in the membrane. I use the tweezers to pull one side or a tiny section in the middle. Just enough to assure me there's air getting in. 9/10 times they are perfectly fine and getting air, just sometimes we need to reassure ourselves.

 

[rays22]

OK! They are both starting to pop their lil faces and beaks out. The chick managed to pop itself through the membrane. Hope these cuties make it!

 

[AmyLynn2374]

OK! They are both starting to pop their lil faces and beaks out. The chick managed to pop itself through the membrane. Hope these cuties make it!

Great! How are they doing this morning?