No chicks in 24 hours

[bre113]

I had 12 chicks hatch the first 24 hours, 3 of which died. I have 12 more eggs in the bator, that I know had live chicks in them day 18. What now? Should I open these eggs? Do they still have a chance?

Sorry I've been asking so many questions. I'm new to all of this, but will be constantly keeping eggs in the bator now to hatch for meat, so I want to do what's best!

 

[bobbi-j]

There's nothing wrong with asking questions. That's how we learn things! I'd give it another day or two, but not much past that. From my experience, the later hatching ones are weak and don't always survive. If you want to open them up, that's entirely up to you.

 

[bre113]

I chose to open one last night. It was my largest egg. It had twins, nearly fully developed! Must have been a double yolk! They were too small, and had no more growing room, so they didn't really have a chance, but I though that was awsome!!

 

[bobbi-j]

Sometimes it can be quite educational to open them up.

 

[PD-Riverman]

I had 12 chicks hatch the first 24 hours, 3 of which died. I have 12 more eggs in the bator, that I know had live chicks in them day 18. What now? Should I open these eggs? Do they still have a chance?

Sorry I've been asking so many questions. I'm new to all of this, but will be constantly keeping eggs in the bator now to hatch for meat, so I want to do what's best!

You probably heard this 1000 times, here is 1001. I Never open the incubator after day 18 until day 22 unless all the eggs hatch before that time---It can cause PROBLEMS if you open it during that time. On day 22, I remove hatched chicks and If a egg is pipped and the chick is alive---I help the chick out----I then leave those "helped" chicks in the incubator for another day----then put them with the rest----if they are doing ok. If the eggs are not pipped----I toss them---thats your call. After hatching MANY, I have no desire to see what is inside a unhatched egg.

 

[bre113]

I didn't open it until I took the chicks out. I had to take them out at 24ish hours because another chick hatched with an I absorbed yolk sac, and they were pecking at it and burst it. I removed the other chicks. I did not open it again until that chick died and I had to remove it, as well as another hatched chick.
I just didn't know if these remaining eggs could still have live chicks, since all 12 remaining had live chicks day 18 (I saw nearly all of them moving)

 

[bobbi-j]

You didn't do anything wrong in checking when you did. We all do things differently - to each his own. Obviously they weren't going to hatch anyway, so you didn't hurt a thing. Some of them just aren't strong enough to make it out of the shell.