Please help-not sure what to do!

[nance91]

This is our first time incubating, today was day 19 so we had planned to remove the automatic egg turner and raise the humidity, only to find one chick had already hatched& one has pipped a circle all the way around the egg! We HAD to open the bator to add water and remove the egg turner.. Now at least 10 hours later the chick who had pipped around the whole egg is still the same & not hatched.. I've read today about shrink wrapping, so now I'm worried we may have shrink wrapped it by removing the egg turner, but also don't want to help it hatch.. There are a few more eggs with little pips in them, but they are not supposed to hatch for another couple of days, so not really sure what to do.. And not sure about opening the bator to try and help the chick? Do I wait and remove them after they have all hatched??

Thanks!!

 

[Sonja73]

First, what breed are they? Smaller breeds will tend to hatch a bit early.

It is okay, deep breath. lol.

Some eggs hatch on day 19, 20, 21,22 etc. Although it is not normal, it isn't terribly uncommon. It depends alot on the temperature, breed, ect.

If I were you, and the little bugger still has not hatched fully, I would take a look and make sure it's head is clear of obstruction, i.e. it can breathe.

Keep me posted!

 

[loveourbirds]

if your using a Styrofoam incubator you will have to open it to keep water in it. when you do, lightly mist your eggs with water close to hatching temp.

if you were hatching bantam eggs this is fairly common. if it was large fowl your temperature is just a touch high - lower it by about half a degree.

as far as shrink wrapping and assisted hatching, this article explains it way better than i can.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/step-by-step-guide-to-assisted-hatching

keep me posted on how it goes.

best of luck,
brian

 

[johnmclaren]

Hatching is a gradual process. The actual use is to provide the eggs with the desired hatching temperature which would make the cell environment proliferate in a desired manner. The size does matter as rightly said by loveourbirds. The blog which has been quoted is a good answer to your query. Hope you find it and post update here in this forum. Waiting to here from you all on updates.

 

[nance91]

They are buff Orpington chicks, and the rest are doing fine it's just been 2 early birds, It's been this way now since at least 11am yesterday morning, chirping away.. So I'm not sure if its stuck. How long can they stay this way? I don't want to assist hatch if it's not ready yet but also not sure if its stuck! Ugh

Thanks for all the help!

 

[nance91]

 

[nance91]

if your using a Styrofoam incubator you will have to open it to keep water in it. when you do, lightly mist your eggs with water close to hatching temp.

if you were hatching bantam eggs this is fairly common. if it was large fowl your temperature is just a touch high - lower it by about half a degree.

as far as shrink wrapping and assisted hatching, this article explains it way better than i can.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/step-by-step-guide-to-assisted-hatching

keep me posted on how it goes.

best of luck,
brian

Thank you for that article! Just still not sure what to do, I added a picture so you can see what the eggs looks like & has been since 11am yesterday morning-maybe earlier than that.. That's just when I noticed. I haven't rushed to bother it & may just need to wait for it to hatch out, but as a first time hatcher Im not really sure how long it can take from the process it's at.

 

[SavvyPractical]

Nance,
From what I have read and experienced eggs can vary wildly in hatch time from pip. 10-30 hours they can also vary in yolk absorption, some may absorb before outer shell pip and others after. You have a really good zip there. If you can see baby moving, or hear chirping I would just let him/her rest. You may be able to flick a bit of the shell off near the babies beak if that will make you feel better. Hang in there. You are doing a great job! Keep us posted.

 

[Sonja73]

Woohoo! Orpingtons! Great choice! haha. That looks like a great pip, everyone above has great advice!

It is hard during the days of hatching not to help out the babies. As long as it can breathe and move around a bit, leave it alone. Pretty soon the others will begin to hatch and cheer it on. Just keep an eye on it.

You are doing great!

 

[nance91]

I guess my question more so, is how long can the chick stay like it appears in the picture? It's been over 22 hours now & I just wasnt sure how long it could stay in there before it needed help. It's chirp isn't loud and bright like it has been.