Setting eggs today 4/1/12 Anyone else?

[AinaWGSD]

I have another one pipping and it is further along than the one that started this morning. The one from this morning now has long cracks coming out of it, but no real hole yet. The second one has a hole and a big chunk that will fall off with the next big kick.

I know it's hard, but try not to worry too much! Some chicks pip way before they are ready to hatch, and others don't pip until they're ready to go go go! My first hatch the first one to pip took I want to say a full day (24 hrs) to hatch. It was pipped and the size of the pip hole stayed the same until probably the last hour or less before it hatched. I checked on it and there was no progress, then I checked again an hour and a half later and it had completely hatched. It was the first to pip, and I think that 8 other chicks hatched before it finally did.

 

[emtdiv]

It was the first to pip, and I think that 8 other chicks hatched before it finally did.

lol It is very nerve wracking! I have three now, twelve to go!! Hope I can get to sleep tonite if nothing has happened yet...lol

 

[jodiea60]

I'm a first timer here.....Lockdown last night...humidity dropped so we were trying to add water and I was standing by the bator and I heard a peep....I think my heart skipped a beat!!!! so we got to looking closer and at least 3 have pipped!!!!.....So if they hatch do you just leave them in the bator til the rest are done!!!! Or take them out???

 

[AinaWGSD]

Congrats on the peeps and pips, that's so exciting! I didn't really hear the peeping before this batch hatched because it was hard to distinguish from the peeping of the week old chicks in the other room, but I do remember my husband and I grinning like fools when we heard that first peep from our first hatch! If you're having problems with your humidity, you will probably want to leave them all in there until all, or most, of the eggs hatch and check for pips before you open the incubator if you still have unhatched eggs. Newborn chicks can live for 3 days off their absorbed yolk sac before they need to eat or drink, so it won't hurt to leave them in there until everyone hatches. My first hatch I had 18 eggs in lockdown, and no problems at all with the humidity during lockdown so I felt safe to take chicks out as they dried off and move them to the brooder because it got really crowded in there with about 8 chicks hatched. But the danger of opening the incubator during lockdown, especially if the humidity is on the low side to start with, is that you could dry out the membranes on any chicks that have already pipped and shrink wrap them, causing them to be unable to hatch and die. This time around, I only have 9 eggs in there and larger chicks already in the brooder, so I'm waiting for the new hatchlings to be strong enough to move them.

 

[Reyvaughn]

17 of 18 Ameraucana chicks are out.
1 of 8 chicks from shipped eggs are out, one pipped.
6 of 15 MFC chicks are out.

I still have 10 shipped eggs under my broody and I haven't heard anything from under her...

 

[SkyeSchazade]

Congrats everyone on your new babies! I am stiiill waiting...

 

[emtdiv]

I have 5 pips now, they seem to break through and then nothing. It has been 24 hours since the first one pipped and it doesn't show anything more. I have another that seemed to be moving along faster than the first and it was breaking through nicely last night. You could see the little beak and the shell pop up. Now this morning it is the same and doesn't seem to be moving. I had to open up this morning for about 3 secs to pull out the egg next to it. There was a brown goo coming from under it. It tried to pip from the bottom and I guess it drowned or something, poor little beak sticking out. When I removed the shell, it was fully formed and almost no yoke sac left. So sad, now I am worried that my pips won't progress......

 

[gwendalynn28]

I woke up this morning and checked the incubator. The humidity was down to 62% so I added some water. I noticed as I was pouring the water that 2 of the eggs have pipped! I checked again about an hour later and three eggs have pipped! I'm so happy! They are due tomorrow so this will be the first early hatchers that I've ever had! Its exciting and fun to watch but I also worry a lot when things are going very slow. I'm trying to find things to do so I don't keep checking every few minutes and driving myself crazy thinking of all the things that could go wrong! I have 12 eggs in the incubator so I'm hoping to get quite a few chicks this time! I'll post pictures as the babies hatch out! Congratulations to everyone who has new chicks!

 

[jodiea60]

Have one zipping...Husband hollers "its out"....OMG so cool and so tiny...don't think I will use cupcake papers again....More pips with movement!!!!
Will post pics of our "first born" later....

 

[AinaWGSD]

I had to open up this morning for about 3 secs to pull out the egg next to it. There was a brown goo coming from under it. It tried to pip from the bottom and I guess it drowned or something, poor little beak sticking out. When I removed the shell, it was fully formed and almost no yoke sac left. So sad, now I am worried that my pips won't progress......

How sad! It sounds like it may have pipped through a blood vessel last night and bled. Keep your chin up, I'm sure they'll progress when they're ready. They aren't supposed to hatch until the yolk sac is completely absorbed, so when that one died it wasn't quite ready to actually hatch yet.

My little zipper hasn't made any progress overnight. I can see it still breathing, but now it's been zipped this far for almost 24 hours and I'm getting worried. The chicks have really made a mess of my incubator and the other eggs, so I might turn on the shower and pull that one out to clean off the shell and see if I can get a better picture of what's going on. The good news this morning is that my broody hen is back on the nest after being off it all day yesterday after we moved her, so I'm going to try slipping these babies under her tonight and see if she'll adopt them for me.