Nervous and new to this !

[vikki73]

I've been up most of the night and my 2nd egg has hatched

But my 1st pipped egg still has the chicks beak sticking out slightly but it's been like that with no change for nearly 24 hrs he's definitely opening and closing his beak but only very slightly now .. is there anything I can do ?

 

[Yorkshire Coop]

Some sure are quicker than others at hatching and each chick is individual. These are your eggs and I can't tell you that you should or should not intervene with it but have a good read of this ~ https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/step-by-step-guide-to-assisted-hatching
It's got lots of great info on when and when not to help.

 

[vikki73]

He didn't make it

I got a couple of hours sleep and when I woke I checked again and he had stopped opening his beak .. after a few more hours he still hadn't moved at all .. thank you for the information though x my other chick is doing great and is too cute ! Will it be a problem though as he looks like he's the only one that will hatch .. don't like the thought of him on his own ! Also could you advise how long you would leave the chick in the incubator before transferring to a heat plate .. thanks

 

[Yorkshire Coop]

Sorry to hear that you lost the little chick I'm afraid they do sometimes fail to hatch even after pipping, I had two in my last hatch. One pipped through a blood vessel and bled out and the other just passed after pip. I'm afraid it's just how nature works and only the strongest will survive.
Dont give up on your other eggs, they may just be late. I would leave them until day 23/24 before checking for life in them. As for your hatched chick it can survive for upto 72 hours after hatch as they live off the yolk they absorb prior to hatching so is fine to stay in the incubator. It should also encourage the other eggs to hatch. If you do end up with a lone chick I would try to find it a couple of friends of the same age as this would be best for it. They get lonely on their own and can often be very loud calling for others. If you can't find any others or no other eggs hatch you can add a small soft cuddly toy and a mirror to try and make it believe it has company.

Hope you have some action from the other eggs soon

 

[vikki73]

Thank you so much for helping me along with this .. I'm a bit of a worrier so your advise has been really reassuring. There's still no action from the other eggs so I made a few calls this morning and have just picked up 3 new chicks to keep him company just incase .. I have put them under a heat plate but I think it may not be low enough as they're making a lot of noise and the 2 smaller ones (I think 2 are a day or possibly 2 days younger) are keeping close together. When would you recommend to put my own hatched chick with the others ? He was born at 5.20 this morning .. haha proud mum

 

[Yorkshire Coop]

You are most welcome, really. Great to hear you have found some more chicks A change in environment can set them off until they have settled in. Did you try lowering the heat plate to see if that helped? I would put your hatched chick as soon as you can so they can get acquainted, is your chick dry and fluffy now? That would be best so it's more steady on its feet.
Anything happened with your other eggs yet?

 

[vikki73]

I put my chick in with them a couple of hours ago and they've settled together really well .. he's actually quite big compared to them ! They've been quiet for a while now but seem happy .. do they usually keep fairly quiet at night ? The other eggs haven't done anything as yet but I will perservere with them for a few more days. I'm so excited !! Next worry is will they eat and drink ? How long would you recommend to keep them indoors before taking out to the coop ? Sorry the questions are endless !

 

[Yorkshire Coop]

Great to hear things are going well
Is all still ok today? They do tend to be quiet on a night when it's dark under the heat plate. Have you got them all eating drinking now? Tapping your finger in the chick crumb encourages them to check it out and start eating. Gently dipping their beak in the water also shows them where the water is.

As for getting them outside you will need to wait until they are fully feathered especially with the weather as it is now. 6-8 weeks depending how fast they feather.
They do soon grow out of the brooder, do you have a plan for when they do but are not ready for outdoors?

Anything from your other eggs?

 

[vikki73]

Everything's going really well they had a quiet evening and this morning I got them eating and drinking .. I have a conservatory that I thought might be an idea to use as the next step when they're bigger as it's cooler but not as cold as outside, do you think that would be suitable to adjust them to going outside? And how many weeks would they be ok to take them to the conservatory ? As for the other 2 eggs nothing has happened yet but someone who looked said they thought they saw one of them wobble slightly earlier so I'm still waiting