Pipping Eggs - Is Membrane too Dry?

[Green244]

Hi Everyone,

My name is Nicola and I am based in Essex in England. I am incubating my first batch of eggs and today (at 2pm Uk time, we are due to hatch).

I have been reading all your threads for the past 20 days and the information has been invaluable.

A couple of my eggs have started popping this morning. However, the membrane under the shell looks to be very dry and although the outer shell has popped, the membrane is still intact. Is this normal or is there problem with the humidity?

I am using a Brinsea Mini Advance.

I do not want to open the incubator as will lose any humidity that has built up. However, should there be a point whereby it is a good idea to put in a wet
Cloth to raise the humidity or shall I just let nature take its course?

To be honest, I am surprised that there has been a pip as there has been no movement since day 18 and still no chirping or movement this morning.

any advice would be greatly appreciated

 

[Yorkshire Coop]

Hi Nicola!

Congrats on your pips The membrane looks fine and I'm sure you have nothing to worry about with it. Really dark brown tan colour is usually an indication of it being dry but yours look OK to me. If they have only pipped this morning it could be another 24 hours before they hatch. There is not set time, some pip and hatch after a few hours but others can really take their time. I'm afraid it's a waiting game for you now and you need to be patient. Hard work yes but so worth it when they hatch! Your pip looks a little low, they usually pip a tad more towards the fat end oof the egg but does not seem too low. Just keep an eye on progress with it.

Good luck with your hatch

 

[Green244]

Thanks so much for the advice! I will keep watching and waiting. The Brinsea's water well doesn't hold much water and I can already see it getting low

 

[Yorkshire Coop]

Your most welcome

Brinsea incubators hold and get the humidity back up quickly so you will be fine to quickly pop the lid and top it up. As humidity is created by the surface area of water and not depth your humidity will stay the same until the pot is completely dry.

 

[Green244]

One has pipped face down onto the bottom of the incubator. What do I do in this instance? Will it right itself or is there possibility of suffocation?

 

[TheKindaFarmGal]

I would quickly turn it. Don't leave the incubator open long at all.

ETA: Left out a period.

 

[Yorkshire Coop]

It will be fine, no need to do anything. But if you really feel the need you could quickly turn it over. For me though when they are in lockdown I let nature take its course. When I incubate it's in general really full in there and some pip face down and have no trouble. Once you have one hatch it will knock all the eggs about in the incubator and they can end up face down.

 

[Green244]

Thank you

. I think I will leave it as the humidity seems to be raising (the incubator is steaming up). I am reluctant to open it and lose the humidity which the pipped chicks are relying on to soften the membrane so they can break through.

I am very inexperienced so may need to ask you all some questions later in the day if the situation doesn't change

Thank you all for your ongoing advice and support x

 

[Yorkshire Coop]

If your incubator is steaming up (Condensation) it may be a tad high. Opening the incubator to get that out would be a good idea. Just wipe the condensation away. Too high and there is a chance of drowning them. Do you have any vents or air holes fully open? Do you have a hygrometer measuring the humidity?

 

[Green244]

I have nothing measuring humidity as this machine does not offer that function.

There has been almost no progress since this morning X