Prolonged zipping - advice needed

[MLG1900]

During all this commenting on your thread, I went to add some water to my incubator and heard peeping! OMG....it is always so exciting! I did not notice any external pips yet. I accidentally dropped the penlight on the eggs yesterday when i was getting them ready for lock down and I did crack the shell of one egg, the membrane beneath looked white. So, I have my fingers crossed for that one. I am prepared to help assist that one because I figure the membrane will dry out on that one.

Remind me again, what day the rest of the eggs are on now? And are any of those externally pipped? I would definitely try and candle them quickly when you take the chicks out. You don't need to do anything other than shine the light on the egg where is it laying. I would try and NOT move them. Just see if you can see if the air cell has been penetrated, you can also try tapping on the shell. I think some people try to wait at least 24 or 25 days. I read a post today that said the person has had a hatch as late as day 26.

 

[2 many chickens]

Ok they are washed and looking good so far. They were both protesting very loudly and pushing hard with their feet while being bathed. As recommended, have put them back into the incubator for now to dry off - we did a blot dry with paper towel and used a hair dryer with diffuser. They both were mostly standing when we put them back in. Their feet still look a curled to varying degrees - is that still from just being in the egg?

Both vents are clear and their eyes are clear. I had a hard time with some dried membrane on top of their heads but their beaks are clear now.

I'm really hoping they dry quickly so we can move them to the brooder. The question is what the heck to do with the rest of the eggs. We'll amp the humidity for sure and leave them for now, but should I candle or tap to assess, or just wait? Does low humidity have a big impact if they haven't pipped yet? Ie how hopeful are we about the remaining eggs?

Thank you so much for all your comments. This is very harrowing, especially for newbies.

How long have babies been back in the incubator? They won't look totally dry while in the incubator since the humidity is high. I usually move babies I have washed to brooder after about 45 minutes to an hour.
What day are you on? It doesn't hurt to open and candle eggs if you see no external pips. If you are worried about humidity, you can add a warm wet sponge bit or washcloth after opening the incubator & that will help raise it back up quickly. What is your humidity right now? Too high of humidity can also cause sticky chicks. I keep mine between 60 and 70% and of course it rises and drops as chicks hatch.

 

[2 many chickens]

I just read it's only day 21 so it could be another day or so before others hatch. I've had one hatch as late as day 23.

 

[bcchick22]

During all this commenting on your thread, I went to add some water to my incubator and heard peeping! OMG....it is always so exciting! I did not notice any external pips yet. I accidentally dropped the penlight on the eggs yesterday when i was getting them ready for lock down and I did crack the shell of one egg, the membrane beneath looked white. So, I have my fingers crossed for that one. I am prepared to help assist that one because I figure the membrane will dry out on that one.

So exciting!! Good luck.

So we are on day 22 now. I can't see any signs of pips on the others but when we switch the chicks to the brooder I'll take a closer look.

I'm thinking we'll let them stay in the incubator for a little while longer and then move them over. I'm thing we may have to tape their feet. Gah!!! They seem to be resting now (unsurprisingly after what they have gone through this morning!).

 

[bcchick22]

Ok, update - they're settled in the brooder and seem to be doing well. They're not fluffing out all of the way, I think with how sticky they were, even with the bath. It's less like they're wet and more like they're....matted. Anyway, they're moving about the whole brooder, preening, eating crumble, have seen one drink so far. They stir up cheeping and stumbling around for a short while and then both lie down with their heads out - rinse and repeat.

Does this all sound like normal behaviour? Their chirps are loud and they are active during their brief energy spurts.

Both have messed up feet to some degree. One has an entirely curled foot and we put a "sandal" on right away. The other is mostly ok but its inside toes sort of hook in. Both are sort of stumbly walkers. Oh, and the one without the hooked foot looks like it has a slightly portruding vent. Will keep an eye on that.

Jeez, I didn't realize these guys were so high maintenance! I'm not quite sure what went wrong, other than my guess at humidity. There are several full eggs that just aren't hatching. Leaving them in the incubator for now, but not holding out hope. I can't help but think it was user error given the feet malformations in the two chicks...

Here's a pic of one of them fluttering! You can see the matted look.

 

[GreedySeedFeedy]

In the future, if you have any chicks get stuck, find the beak and drip a very small amount of pedialyte on the tip until you see them lick and swallow. Give them about 5 drops every 3 hours and then let them resume zipping. Sometimes all they need is a drink and a little energy! If they don't resume in 12 hours, and enough time has passed that you can be SURE the yolk is completely absorbed, you can just (carefully) peel em like a cadbury creme. I have never lost a single shrink-wrapped chick since I started giving them elecrolyte solution to keep them alive until they hatch!

 

[MLG1900]

Oh, they look good! I was hoping for an update from you when I woke up this morning! I have hatched quail with feet bent in and some of the toes / feet just fixed themselves after a day or two. I think the only problem I had was splayed legs on a quail that i was not able to fix. So, don't be too upset. I think the protruding vent, is just their umbilicus area. Sometimes they are still absorbing yolk when they hatch. Just keep an eye on it. Hopefully it will go away in a day. I do see what you mean about feathers. It may need a wet washcloth to scrub more of the eggwhite junk off. I remember 2 years ago it was terribly hard to get off. Did you candle the other eggs when you took them out? can you still see the air cells or any internal pips?


For me overnight, I was dreaming of chicks hatching! LOL
I woke up at 130am and came out to see one of the bantam silky eggs was hatched.

When I woke up this morning, 2 more chicks were hatched. Well one was out of the egg and the other had the cap off but was still inside. It's head was covered in egg white goop. That is when I noticed. It appears to have hatched out of the narrow end of the egg!. I will leave them alone for awhile because I don't want to disturb any other eggs. Today is day 20. I do not see any obvious pips on the other eggs yet and the babies are very chirpy, so I cannot tell if any eggs are peeping.

Chicks are alot of work. I think that is why I don't hatch more often. Even as exciting as it is!

 

[GreedySeedFeedy]

So rewarding and exciting, isn't it? If I could find a way to hatch eggs for a living, I would lol. It's my most favorite thing in the world!

 

[MLG1900]

In the future, if you have any chicks get stuck, find the beak and drip a very small amount of pedialyte on the tip until you see them lick and swallow. Give them about 5 drops every 3 hours and then let them resume zipping. Sometimes all they need is a drink and a little energy! If they don't resume in 12 hours, and enough time has passed that you can be SURE the yolk is completely absorbed, you can just (carefully) peel em like a cadbury creme. I have never lost a single shrink-wrapped chick since I started giving them elecrolyte solution to keep them alive until they hatch!

WOW! This is news to me! Thank you for sharing! I will try and remember this for sure!

 

[GreedySeedFeedy]

WOW! This is news to me! Thank you for sharing! I will try and remember this for sure!

Yes! I'm happy I could help. I figured, since the cause of death in shrinkwrapped chicks is almost always dehydration, that I could solve that problem. Tried it one day with immediate success, and have been doing it ever since!