Question about rambunctious first hatchling

[randr ranch]

We have only 3 chicks from 8 fertilized eggs. They all looked good when candled at day 7,14 & 18. The first chick that hatched ran all over the incubator, rolling and spinning the other eggs. The 2 that had already pipped hatched just fine. I'm wondering if the rambunctious chick contributed to the other 5 not pipping. Should I have removed that first chick before it pushed around the other eggs? I was nervious to open the incubator during lockdown.

 

[Yorkshire Coop]

For me personally I don't think it makes much difference, it's what would happen in the nest if they were under a hen. There can be many reasons why your remaining eggs did not hatch. You might like to check out this article on incubation problems ~ https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/egg-failure-to-hatch-diagnosing-incubation-problems

Don't beat yourself up about not opening the incubator and taking the first to hatch out. I find it good practice to not open at all and only when hatch is complete do I take hatched chicks out. I like to leave nature to do its thing and any that don't hatch would more than likely have been weak.

Congrats on your 3 new chicks, enjoy them

 

[randr ranch]

That's good to hear. Thank you for pointing me to that great resource. I'll be looking at it carefully before we try hatching again. Our goal is a flock of 24 hens, so I'm hoping to get better at this sooner then later. Until then the 3 chicks are adorable.