Not sure what to do.......

[juliemom25]

We have 12 black copper maren eggs in our Brinsea incubator. This is our second hatch. Our first hatch went amazingly, with 11 out of 14 shipped eggs hatching (Delewares). I have been pretty disappointed thus far with this batch. I have candled twice and only had a couple I thought were questionably growing. It seemed there was nothing in the rest. I paid good money for these eggs, but was pretty much counting the batch a loss. I know these dark eggs can be hard to see through and I am no expert candler so I was sure to keep the incubator set as it should be until I was sure none would hatch. Yesterday was day 21 (counting from the day we set them) and to my surprise we heard chirping from one little egg. I was so excited, one is better then none. I think I see a line where it is trying to break through, but it is nothing like hatching our Delewares. Our Delewares had a very distinct line with cracked egg around it, this line doesn't even look like the shell is perforated. When I went to bed last night I expected to see the little guy broke through this morning, but there is no change. And I have only heard it peep one time this whole morning. Last night we heard it peeping like every 10 minutes or so. I do not want to lose this chick! What is the best thing to do?

Thank you so much!

Julie

 

[TaylorHobbyFarms]

Just to clarify, are you counting the day you set the eggs? I always count the next day as day one.

 

[juliemom25]

Yes, that is exactly how I count also. We set on a Thursday and I counted Friday as day 1.

Julie

 

[Gypsy07]

If I were you, I'd sit tight and just wait for a bit. By hurrying to intervene with this one chick, you could potantially lose the rest of the batch, who might all be getting ready to hatch as I type. Your temps could have been slightly low, so don't panic yet. Marans eggs are a real bugger to see into and it's always hard to tell if any are fertile or not...

 

[yinepu]

were the Marans shipped eggs?
Have you had any temperature swings since they were set?

 

[juliemom25]

Yes, they were shipped. None were cracked on arrival and they seemed to be packaged well. Even though they are darker eggs, I feel like I got a good view of nothing in most of the eggs. While dark, they are not super, super dark.

The only temperature swing I can think of was a few nights ago, we lost power for a few minutes, but I don't think enough to really drop the temp too much.

Julie

 

[juliemom25]

Ok, so I just took a better look at the egg in question and there seems to be no crack or pip like I thought. What does it mean that we defintely heard peeping and there isn't even any crack?? I still have only heard the peeping one time this morning......

Julie

 

[TaylorHobbyFarms]

I have heard peeping two days prior to a hatch. I have had chicks hatch a day late and have heard they can hatch as much as two to three days late. However, I am a bit concerned that they were shipped. I have had troubles in the past with my eggs received in shipment being dry and have recently upped the humidity for my shipped eggs. It may be hard for the chicks to get out. That being said, if you were to open the incubator and they would have been okay, they may not be once you open it so I hate to advise for sure what to do. Any other opinions out there?

 

[juliemom25]

So still no pips or cracking from our one little chirping egg. We have heard faint peeps still a couple times today. It really just makes me want to get in there and get it out. I am worried it will not make it. Please, any more advice?

Julie

 

[Fleezie]

Sometimes it is better to trust your instinct than to worry about what your "suppost" to do!