Should I hear noise in all the eggs?

[EquestrianGal]

We set 10 eggs 21 days ago and 4 more the next day. So, they are "due" today and tomorrow. Three hatched yesterday. One egg is pipped, but has been since last night with no noticable improvement. The chick is still moving and peeping, so I am not going to intervene yet.

Another egg (one that is due tomorrow) has audible movement inside, but no peeping.

One other egg I heard movement in this morning, but no peeping and I didn't hear any when I just checked.

The other eight eggs are silent. Should I be hearing movement? This is our first incubator hatch. At one point I know the humidity dropped, but I don't know how much (we don't have a humidity gauge--something I will invest in before we do this again). Our house is an old house (100 yrs old so not insulated lol) and not prone to being dry in the summer, so hopefully it wasn't too bad. The temp has been good the whole time.

I don't want to intervene if I don't need to, but I don't want to wait and lose all the eggs--most of the ones that are silent are the purebred Ameraucanas (of COURSE all the barnyard mixes seem to be doing just fine). I am just worried that a drop in humidity will have made it too hard for them to break out.

We did candle, but had a hard time telling if there was movement. Definitely air pockets in all of them and a dark mass, so I think they all had chicks.

Anyway, my question is basically, if I am not hearing anything, is that certain doom for most of them?

And, for the chick that started breaking through last night--how many hours do I let him work before I "help."

 

[FeatheredObsessions]

Sometimes you can hear them from across the room sometimes not even with it in your ear. Don't worry on that part

Chicks can take 24hrs at times. Keep an eye on him, the movement, if it's lethargic, etc.

 

[Denninmi]

I agree. Some peep, some don't. All of them make a "clicking" type noise as they breath, I've read that is the noise of air passing through the windpipe as it is in the rather contorted and restricted position in a "folded" chick in the egg.

I wouldn't worry just yet.

One way to get a better idea, aside from candling, is to use a stethoscope -- you can buy them starting at around $20 to $25 at most medical supply or drug stores.

Usually, its normal for a chicken, turkey, quail, or other "upland" bird to go about 24 hours from pip to hatch. For ducks and geese, 36 to 48 hours. I wouldn't consider intervening unless its been a lot longer than that or there is some other obvious sign of distress.

 

[welasharon]

I know I'm not deaf but I could not hear a blasted thing in my serema eggs. All three hatched.
sharon

 

[LilyD]

In my last hatch I couldn't hear them peeping unless I was right on top of the incubator with my ear on it lol. They were so quiet. I wouldn't worry about it if the eggs looked okay going into lockdown.