Need info / opinions / expertise

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Air sacks I really never thought about other than setting them down with the sac on a slight uphill grade in the incubator. My wife's at work, she wants to rush home, and cancel our camping trip for the weekend.
 
Way to go :celebrate Just needed more time that's all. From the initial external pip in the shell they could be upto 24 hours before zipping around the shell and actually hatching. They can take their time and you can't rush it. An average humidity is required during incubation in order for the air sac to grow enough for the chick to pip into safely. Too much humidity and the air sacs don't grow enough and not enough and they can be too big. Yours must have been ok as your chicks have pipped the shell. They should certainly hatch before the weekend!!

I'm sure if you have someone to look after your new chicks you will be good to go on your camping trip!!

Hope you can post some pics of them.
 
I can post pics once I figger out how. Been taking a few on my iphone. Now, if a chick is like "face down in the shell, will it roll around to get itself into position to get out? Have you ever "helped" any, say, pull a chip away and break the "liner / sac" they're in so they can breathe some? Or just leave em alone?
 
Also, how soon do I need to get them into a box with food water heat lamp etc after hatching? Once they "fluff out" or say within 24 hrs or so???
 
When you say face down, do you mean if it's pipped at the pointy end of the egg? They should be in position already if they have made an external pip hole.

I'm not a helper, I leave them be and let nature take its course. Once that lid is shut on the incubator its shut untill hatch is done or its bursting with chicks and there is not enough room. Opening the incubator a lot during hatch causes a humidity drop which could shrink wrap the chicks in the shell. This may or may not happen there is no for sure with it. I just find it good practice to keep it closed and the humidity high. I've helped a couple with bad results. They had zipped the egg but could not get out. I split the membrane and the chicks got out but they died. They were just not strong enough and that's why they could not zip correctly. In nature they would have died. These are your eggs and I can't say that you should not help as its your decision. But I will say intervening too early can have disastrous consequences.
Here is an article that you should have a read through on assisted hatching ~ https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/step-by-step-guide-to-assisted-hatching

As for when to take them out, I wait untill hatch is done and they are fluffy. They are good for 24 hours in the incubator after hatching. They live if the yolk they absorb and rest a lot of the time.
 
Face down I mean the pip hole they create, if the newborns push the eggs around in the incubator, and they are / do, when they are done "rolling around" sometimes the pip hole is down at the bottom is all. We had a total of 5 hatch, 3 before 9PM last night, and 2 more sometime in the night. I candeled this morning, and there were 3 I could see right through, and the other 4 are very dark, air sac etc, so I will wait a few more days before we plull the plug. Thanks for all the info / coaching / links ! Greatly appreciated !
 

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