Okay, I know you SAID I wasn't to open the incubator, but...

[CityGirlintheCountry]

puhleeeze!!!!

No seriously. I had two early hatchers this morning. Tomorrow is actually day 21. There are three more with pips and at least three more that showed activity when I candled on day 17. The two early birds (HA!) will need to start eating and drinking at some point tomorrow, won't they? Should I open it quickly to get those two babies out?

Other random questions from a newbi-
-One of the eggs was halfway zipped this morning. When I got home from work at 10pm it had made no further zips. Is it likely that that one is dead? Should I dispose of it when/if I take out the two babies?

- One of them has a crack (pip?) down low and not at the top like the others. (I have them in an egg carton.) Has that one pipped at the wrong end? Should I flip the egg over or perhaps take it out of the carton? It doesn't look like the tiny, neat little pips the blue egg babies did. It's a welsummer egg. The crack is maybe 1/4" long and sort of triangular. It has been cracked since this morning. Is it too late for this baby?

- The two that have already hatched are still dampish and really floppy. Is this normal? I've only ever gotten mailed chicks or hatched them under a mama hen.


Okay... I think I'm done. I'm sure I will have more questions later.

 

[becky3086]

Ok, let me see what I can answer and they are all questions that I asked when first hatching too.
I take the chicks out as soon as they are fluffy and dry. I have NEVER had a probem when doing this.
Take out the egg that is halfway zipped(when you take out the two chicks) and check through any part of the broken shell and check to see if it is still alive. If it is it may just be stuck, break off a little peice of shell where it has stopped pipping, break off more, if at any time you see blood, stop and put it back in the incubator, it is not stuck, it is just not ready.
Leave the one pipped on the bottom to see if it can get itself out. Usually they do, if not you may have to help but you would be surprise at how long some chicks can take to be ready to hatch.
Floppy is normal for a chick, give it a few hours and it will get better.
Hope that helps.
Becky

 

[CityGirlintheCountry]

Okay... so I'm just being neurotic and everything is probably progressing normally. Whew.

It takes a LOT longer than I thought it would. Why is it my hens hatch out everybody they're going to hatch in 24 hours and the incubator takes a couple of days? They've all been in there under the same conditions.
Hmmm...