Possible disaster... HELP!

[genevieve]

18 eggs in incubator, started hatching last night, 4 out today- while I am at work I texted DB and asked what colors and.... he SENT ME A PICTURE WITH THE TOP OFF THE INCUBATOR!!!!

Are the rest of them doomed??? I texted back to put a warm wet paper towel in there, but last time I did that I think I drown the remaining chicks. How can I tell if they are shrink wrapped? What do I do- do I open them?

They aren't even due until tomorrow...

 

[ReikiStar]

Breathe...don't worry. If that were a hen she might get up to let the ones that hatched take a walk. Just get the humidity up there and watch when they pip to see if the membrane is white. You might end up having to help some of them out if the membranes became too dry for them to break through. Do a search there is a lot of great information about helping chicks out.

Good luck!

PS. Guess someone needs to be taught what "lock down" means.

 

[cmom]

I agree, don't worry, a broody will get off the nest once in awhile, no harm no foul.

 

[chickenbuttsowhat]

no worry if they really not due untill tomorrow i would keep waiting and if they dont hatch tomorrow wait a day more then try start hatching or u can do a lil test get warm water not hot and put a egg in there if the egg pops up and down then u still have life if it doesnt move most likly its dead

hope everythign works out and have happy new born chicks just make sure to keep it nice and worm and humid

 

[Arielle]

I open and close mine as needed through the hatching process, %RH stays up just fine in mine because of the wet sponges.

 

[Ridgerunner]

No they are not doomed. Remember that the recommendations on this site are guideliens, not absolute laws of nature. If you follow the guidelines perfectly, you are not guaranteed success. If you violate a guideline your are not guaranteed failure. Many of us violate some guidelines and still usually do OK. The guidelines do not guarantee anything. They just improve your odds of success.

They aren't even due until tomorrow In theory, it take 21 days for chicken eggs to hatch if everything is perfect. In practice, many things can cause eggs to hatch early or late, by as much as two days and occasionally even more. Heredity, humidity, how they are stored before you put then in the incubator, size of the eggs, many different things can affect when they actually hatch. One real big factor is average incubating temperature. If the average incubating temperature is a bit high, they can be early. Real early. Don't put too much stock in hitting the 21 days exactly.

If you open the incubator during hatch, you can shrink wrap a chick if it has pipped. It is possible. I've done it. But it is also very possible the chicks will not be shrink wrapped. When I did it, I got one, not all of them. And there have been times when I shrink wrapped none of them. The guidleines say don't do it because something bad CAN happen. There is no guarantee that something bad WILL happen. It depends on a lot of different factors. How fast the incubator recovers the humidity, how long it is open, the relative humidity in the room when it is opened and who knows what else. You'd be surprised how tough some of those chicks are.

Just because somebody opens their incubator during lockdown and nothing bad happens does not mean you can. Their conditions are different. Just because I sometimes have problems doing that does not mean you will each and every time. Our conditions may be different. I know I am repeating myself but some people seem to have a lot of trouble with the concept that we use different incubators in different conditions and get different results.

Now, how do you tell if they are shrink wrapped? First, let's look at the hatching process. The chick internally pips, externally pips and the zips and hatches. Sometimes it takes a long time between these steps and sometimes they seem to happen pretty quickly. The chick is not just resting between the steps. It is actually working pretty hard. It has to absorb the yolk, dry up external blood vessels it no longer needs, switch from breathing in an all liquid environment to breathing air, and who knows what else. Some chicks do a lot of this between internal pip and external pip. These are the ones we like because they go from external pip to zip pretty fast. Some do a lot of this between external pip and zip. These are the ones that drive us crazy wondering if anything is wrong. They can easily take well over twelve hours for this step. I've never seen it, but some people report 24 hours between a normal pip and zip. Some even zip and complete the hatch before totally finishing all this stuff. Most of them make it OK.

If you try to help a chick before it is ready to hatch, you can kill it. If you open the incubator to help one, you may shrink wrap another. It is not easy to decide when to help. I don't always guess right and I don't have a good answer for you. If you see a yellow foam coming from the pip, it is now or never. That chick is getting ready to die. Do it now! It may already be too late. If the chick pipped a long time ago and the membrane looks white, it is time to consider action. But if you see blood when you start to remove the shell or membrane, you are too early.

I don't know if I said anything that helps you. Opening the incubator during lockdown is not a good thing, but it does not necessarily mean disaster. Good luck!!!

 

[genevieve]

5th chick out...

One zipped and was glued in and dead when I got home.

4 more are pipped, one the membrane is white.

I just poured some water on the paper towel in there.

I can see the one in the white membrane egg moving and pecking.

What to do now?

 

[chickenbuttsowhat]

just keep waiting its a waiting game lol i wait once for 2 days for last chick to hatch just never know lol

 

[Arielle]

Quote:
x2 great info as always Ridgerunner!

I have been able to assist some and have them survive, and others I've opened , found veins , and covered with a wet paper towel and then wait, and wait, check for veins and wait. Hatching is a big learning curve.

The closer optimal conditions can be maintained the fewer problems result. THe key is to determine what is optimal conditions for your incubatoe, type of egg and general environment. I'm still far from perfect hatches--but I keep learning. ANd I keep a notebook so I can evaluate the factors. Sometimes when I alter the conditions, I get a better hatch; sometimes a lower % . Sometimes I can't change when the eggs were stored upside down at room temp, but could reduce shaking up via the USPS by picking them up. I learned that not all people selling hatching eggs know the proper storage; but this person was kind enough to save a weeks worth of eggs and sell them to me. I'm grateful for the few that hatched. live and learn. Rather, hatch and learn !