Never mind not such a great idea...

[cthrash1]

I watched the video about hatchery chicks and saw how they poke a small hole in the top of the eggs going to hatch. So, being I have a whole bunch of pokeys, I took one of the little diabetes tester pokey things(a new sterile one by the way) and poked a small hole in the top of an egg going into my hatcher...That baby hatched beautifully, so I tried it again on one of the eggs in the hatcher now and again, perfect. The most recent egg is one I took from my broody last night as it was due last Thursday and it ended up being the only one of the 3 brought in that was developed, moving and looked to have pipped the air sac. So I think I am going to do this from now on so when the air sac is pipped they have more oxygen and and less stress...

Have a great day!!! Cindy

 

[Griffox]

newbie question: Do some chicks die because they run out of Oxygen before zipping the shell?

How can you tell when they've pipped the membrane. Do you have to candle? What will you see? I have one egg where the air sac is taking up 1/2 of the shell...is that because the chick has pipped and the air is now filling the free space in the egg?

 

[MissPrissy]

You are very lucky those chicks haven't developed a bacterial infection. Hatcheries do it in a semi-sterile environment and most often I have seen of it has been in Canadian hatcheries. The eggs have been washed and treated to prevent bacterial and viral infections. Not for watching the chicks develop but how some of them vaccinate the chicks. Also research labs do it but again they practice sterile environments for the most part.

I have spent too much money on eggs and have taken to much care to get them to near hatching stage to screw it all up and have losses.

Chicks pip and hatch as designed by nature. There is a reason the interally pip before breathing in their first breath of outside air.

Sorry. I can't recommend this practice to anyone.

 

[hinkjc]

I'm not sure I would recommend this either. How do you know they wouldn't have hatched just perfect otherwise? I think if incubation is done appropriately, you should not have to interfere at all. A chick will pip when it is ready. I don't really see the benefit in "pre-pipping" an egg and in all honesty, this is the first I've ever heard of it.

Jody

 

[cthrash1]

Okay then I guess it isn't such a great idea... I have officially been spanked for my ignorance... I will not use this practice at the risk of my babies. Didn't realize it was so life threatening...I just saw it on that video and thought they did it to help them breath. I did tell you I was still learning when I PM'd you. Lesson learned.

Thanks, Cindy

 

[silkiechicken]

Yeah, they're right. As for "runing out of oxygen", the shell is porous so oxygen can get it. If I remember right, the slowly decreasing oxygen is what causes the chick to "spasm" and to pip normally. Like how there are studies that show natural birth children do better than C section, a hatched chick on their own often do better than assisted ones, but either way, they can grow up just fine and healthy.