***OKIES in the BYC III ***

[MrsDickey]

How do I help? And when do I know I should go ahead and help out?

 

[Kassaundra]

I go by progress, if I don't see progress in over 8 hours, like a pip hole that doesn't change AT ALL, you have to be careful b/c sometimes a pip hole (what you can see) will look unchanged, and you go to pick it up and see the back side where you couldn't see has been zipping away.

I do it in my bathroom b/c it is easy to heat and humidify the room. I start at the pip hole gently and gradually (small pieces) chip away in a "zip" way, that they normally would zip along. The egg has 3 layers, the shell, the thick white membrane, and the thin inner membrane. The shell and outer membrane are not as important (except how they affect the inner membrane) the inner membrane if it is clear is not shrink wrapped, if it is opaque is, it needs to be moistened a qtip w/ warm water does well, avoid the beak area so the chick doesn't aspirate. Look at the moistened membrane it has blood vessels, these empty into the chick through hatching process. If these are still red w/ blood you can bleed the chick out by severing them. Using the qtip the ease the membrane over the chick is the best way I have found. I generally zip the top, loosen the membrane over the chicks head and upper area and allow it to kick it's own way out of the shell. You need to be careful of the shell pieces as you chip it away it can cut the under veins. If a vein starts bleeding put it back in the incubator and let it rest and clot, it can lose more blood then you think, but better if it doesn't lose any, then after a little bit try again. Also by keeping to the natural zip line you are safer from causing a bleed.

 

[Kassaundra]

For an over due egg you can open in the same way w/o an external pip, but these chicks are much less likely to live past a few days. Candle and start your own pip hole in the air sac.

 

[Kassaundra]

Good news, hatch is over, bad news ......................... hatch is over. I had 10 of 24 eggs hatch. Several early quitters, a couple of mid quitters, mostly late quitters again, and a few that internally pipped but died before external pip, or trying to external pip.

No scaleless in this batch, but non of the green eggs hatched, lost several very dark fm birds (or would have been ) I open all non liquid eggs at the end of hatch to see what is not making it, how far they made it, what is coming out of which eggs etc....


Over half of my live birds were saved by my intervention, didn't lose any to assistance. I don't think any that died would have been saved by earlier interventions b/c those that died after internal pip had not externally pipped and those I have assisted w/o external pip seldom live past a few days anyway.

 

[Kassaundra]

@MrsDickey how goes your hatch? Hope yours is more successful.

 

[MrsDickey]

So far several pips but no zips or any chicks out.

 

[Kassaundra]

So far several pips but no zips or any chicks out.

How long have they been pipped?

 

[MrsDickey]

Okay!! 2 are out. 1 got out on its own and 1 is the one that pipped last night.. I helped it out. Now I've noticed one has pipped on the pointy end. Anything I can do to help it out or do I just leave it be??

 

[Kassaundra]

Okay!! 2 are out. 1 got out on its own and 1 is the one that pipped last night.. I helped it out. Now I've noticed one has pipped on the pointy end. Anything I can do to help it out or do I just leave it be??

I would keep an eye on the wrong end pipper, they have a really hard time zipping, if it stalls you will need to help it, but it is a harder help, more issues w/ the blood vessels and no air sac room to work with.

 

[MrsDickey]

How long do I wait before I help? 8 hours with no change for wrong end pip too?