new chick is bumping all the unhatched eggs

[mamachick]

only one out of 18 chicks has hatched thus far, and it's moving around so much that it's knocking all the unhatched eggs around. Should I be concerned about this?
Thanks!

 

[HEChicken]

Nope - that is perfectly normal. I had a hatch yesterday. When I woke up, all eggs were pipped but none had hatched. An hour later the first hatched and started playing soccer with the remaining eggs. In no time I couldn't see the pips in half the eggs (so was glad to have seen them first thing or I wouldn't have even known they were pipped). By the end of the day, every egg had successfully hatched without intervention.

 

[mamachick]

Thanks!! My next question is ... how long after pipping should they be finished hatching? How long should I wait before intervening?

 

[mstricer]

If you keep it dark they won't do that. It is dark under a hen. Try to use a red light flashlight.

 

[HEChicken]

Thanks!! My next question is ... how long after pipping should they be finished hatching? How long should I wait before intervening?

It can take 24 hours or more from pip to hatch. Try to avoid intervening. In most cases, intervening causes more problems than it solves. While it can be difficult to wait and watch, this is an important time for the chick as it absorbs the last of the yolk and readies itself to hatch. Opening the incubator at this point could cause it to shrink wrap making it very difficult to hatch. And, "assisting" it to hatch before it has finished absorbing the yolk will lead to a weak, sickly chick that might not make it. Even the zipping can be frustrating to watch as they have to work very hard and take frequent breaks, even stopping for a nap halfway through. Even at this point, resist the urge to help it that last little bit as it really will be better for the chick if it does all the work by itself.

If you keep it dark they won't do that. It is dark under a hen. Try to use a red light flashlight.

My incubator is in a basement room that has no windows so is pitch black. I have a sheet of styrofoam that sits over the window of the incubator any time I am not in the room, to help keep temp/moisture from escaping through the glass. Yet the first to hatch, even in the pitch black room, invariably moves everything around as it flops about trying to get its legs under it.

 

[TenOC]

We should stop turning the eggs, but it is OK for the chicks to turn the eggs like soccer balls ???????? ????

I assume that this is REAL LIFE