Safety hole

[DukesDucks]

I have had a very bad year trying to hatch chickens and peacocks. Last year my hatch rate was high. Finally figured out it was caused by faulty humidity measurements, but I now use electric calibrated ones. Many losses to shrink wrapping. Now I'm wondering when to put use a safety hole to check it is not happening again.

 

[Indaria]

What is a safety hole?

 

[HeritageFan]

What is a safety hole?

This article will answer all of your questions

The short answer is that it is a tiny (tack sized ) hole poked through the fat end of the egg if a baby has internally pipped and made no further progress in ~24hrs. It allows oxygen into the egg - as they would be running out around that time if they had not cracked the outside of the shell by then.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/guide-to-assisted-hatching-for-all-poultry.72886/

 

[HeritageFan]

I have had a very bad year trying to hatch chickens and peacocks. Last year my hatch rate was high. Finally figured out it was caused by faulty humidity measurements, but I now use electric calibrated ones. Many losses to shrink wrapping. Now I'm wondering when to put use a safety hole to check it is not happening again.

I’m in the PNW and have had a few great hatches, and then a few not so great hatches.

I went from never assisting, to coming to the realization (w help from some folks around here) that mommas help the hatch if they need it.... so. We assumed the role of a broody by putting them in the bator, and we need to find the line of when it’s ok to step in and how much.

I will caution you from personal experience. When you are feeling like you’ve had lots of great hatches and then things start to really change, it is very tempting to step in too soon!

We always want every one of them to make it

So.
- Why do you think a safety hole is the right call?
- How long has it been since internal pip?
(I’m assuming they are in lockdown now?)
- How many days in for each of your varieties are you vs how long they “need”?
- Was your discovery of the hygrometer issue during this hatch round?
- How have the weight losses/ air cell growth been in this batch?

If they have internally pipped and you feel like it is time to step in,
Do you have coconut oil, Qtips/ cotton tipped swans, and a lot of time over the next day or two?
Vaseline can work, olive oil in a pinch, but I’ve found the coconut oil to be by far the best.

If you have to be gone 8+ hours a day, my answer will be a little different than if you are able to “babysit” them or at least have shorter periods where you would be away....

I personally don’t like safety holes except in very limited situations. If I am adding oxygen to the shell, I prefer to make a hole just large enough to verify that they have actually internally pipped, and add the coconut oil to the membrane below the air cell. If the veins have receded, I also use the swab to open a bit more of the membrane from the “pip point’ and add some of the oil around the edges between the baby and the membrane, because that is where it dries out the most quickly.

The tiny hole is, however, safer esp if you can’t re apply the oil every 6-8 hours, as it allows more humidity retention...

I often have to do a fair bit of assisting once I start (on the rare occasion that I need to step in). But I’m also very sure that I’ve got a good number of babies on the ground that I wouldn’t have if I’d not helped.
As well as one that may have made it if I’d not stepped in too early :/