Newbie, first hatch, pipping then nothing

[Enchanted Sunrise Farms]

Hello - this is the first batch of chick eggs i have ever incubated. We are on day 21, saw first pip on one egg at 11:20am. i heard peeping at various times during the day, now nothing. It's 10:20pm, 11 hours later and no change or movement. i have 29 other eggs in there and nothing from them.

Should i be worried?

Thanks for anyone's time to respond.

Oh, still air incubator, temp at 100.5, humidity at 70%.

 

[andischickenfarm]

Ok, I'm no hatching expert, but I'll tell you what I do and then you can decide what you want to do. When I see one pip, I go ahead and pull back a little bit of the shell and some of the white thing whatever you call it I know it has a name but I can't think of it. And I make sure I can see their beak. Then I leave them alone and let them hatch out on their own. Now on the other eggs I would hold them up to my ear and listen real close to see if you can hear peeping. I gently shake the egg just a little to kinda "wake up" the chick so it'll peep. If you hear peeping, I'd leave it alone and let it hatch when it's ready. But, if you don't I put them in the back of the bator. They might not hatch until the next day. Don't trash them until they've been at least 24 days in the bator. I hope this helps and I wish you well on your hatching. Keep us posted!

Andi

PS: This is just my own way of doing it. I'm sure others will disagree with me. So you can do what you want.

 

[gavbarker]

I have my 3rd batch in due today they started piping yesterday morning and today one is just aboult out but the others are all still in the eggs with the same tiny hole as yesterday i dont know if i should leave them alone any longer or help them its been 24 hours my humiditys at 70 and temp around 37.5ish. All my previous hatches iv had to help out this is the 1st batch iv had one almost out by itsself.

 

[Enchanted Sunrise Farms]

Thanks Andi, and now you will learn what an absolute dweeb i am. i did as you said . . . took the egg out . . . went to pick at the pipped spot, only to now see it was a strange piece of dust (or something) stuck on the egg. No pipping at all. But i did hear chirping coming from the incubator yesterday (really i did).

Also, upon further reading on this board, it looks like my days are off. i counted day 1 as the day i put the eggs into the incubator. But that would be day 0, right? So yesterday was really day 20 for me. Today is day 21, so i still may have a successful hatch . . . i hope.

i sure feel like if any of these chicks hatch it will be in spite of me!

Thanks again, and wish me luck, while i sit and watch these eggs for another full day.

Colleen

 

[lurky]

i have 2 waiting to hatch and i feel the same as you.

 

[jimnjay]

It is best to leave your incubator closed during the entire time after the eggs begin to pip. Opening and closing the incubator releases the critical humidity and causes the temperature to fluctuate. Once you add the water and increase moisture during the final days, the mantra is STEP AWAY FROM THE BATOR!

I have noticed that the first to pip often takes longer to hatch, possibly because they are not quite ready or humidity is not quite right yet. The humidity and temperature usually rises after on chick hatches. This is normal so don't panic. If temp get to high just adjust very slightly.

I would not open the incubator and check anything at all untill possibly late in day 22. Low temps anytime during the incubation can delay the hatch. Sometimes you can hear peeping and sometimes you don't hear a thing.

 

[Enchanted Sunrise Farms]

But if i step away from the incubator, it will make it extra uncomfortable as i hunch over it all day peering in the little windows. ;->

 

[lurky]

Seriously........how are you s'posed to see in the windows if you step away......

Plus, they would not put the little windows on 'em if you weren't s'posed to be lookin'

 

[JillsChicks]

I found it hard not to take chicks out once they dried off because they keep bumping into my unhatched eggs and burning their heads on the heating element. It may have affected two of the eggs that didn't end up hatching all the way - their yolks were not completely absorbed though.

My husband is a vet and this week he brought home a BBQ chicken dinner in a container used to ship drugs in. It will make the perfect incubator! I have to get the chicken smell out of it though! I really like it because it is taller than the Hova Bator incubator I used - no chicks will get burned! Not sure if I'll try again this year or next spring.

Have fun! Ann

 

[sillygoose4ever]

I always liked the Brower incubator! It works great. I have never had any luck what-so-ever with the little giant and hovabator incubators. This is the first one that has worked for me. I also suggest the old Sear or Brower incubators... Chicks will peep a couple days b4 they hatch sometimes.