So I'm coming up on day 23 with no sign of anything and decided to poke a small hole in the top to see what was going on here, as this was my second failed hatch. 16 were yolk or very early embryos. I poked a hole in the top of one and I do see blood vessels, membrane and feathers, but no sign of movement. Same thing with another one. Then I regained my senses and stopped picking at the rest of them. So is there any hope for them? Do I put tape over the hole or anything? I set it on a warm wet wash cloth in the bator hoping to soften the membrane. Now what?
No movement indicates no life. If you pipped the air sac and can see the internal membrane and the chick behind it, if the chick is alive you would see some type of movement. No movement would tell me the chick has died prior to pipping. Based on this type of info I would end my hatch, sterelize everything and try again. Sorry you lost your hatch. It happens to the best of hatchers for reasons we often can't explain.
Well, the one definitely wasn't moving so I took the rest of the shell off and it was a perfectly formed little chick, yolk sac still attached. :-( I'm leaving the rest for another day because I'm in no hurry but I'm so bummed! I got nothing from my first try so I got 24 eggs from two different shippers this time and was meticulous about everything and still nothing? My husband says no more money can be spent on "magic beans" right now and that it's time to move on from the chicken experiment, but I really wanted chicks!
The best way to hatch chicks, is to start with your on eggs. This way you will know any mistake is your own. Or you could get them from a local feed store. Most egg suppliers do their best to ship fresh fertile eggs, and well packaged. If you have ever watched the mail handlers, you would wonder how any hatched. With young hens and rooster you should have good fertile eggs. Follow the directions on incubation and you will have chicks. For most the first few times are hard, if there is no one to help. Once you have a fer hatches under your belt, you will look back at these and laugh at your mistakes. Everyone wants to candle the eggs at 7, 14 and 18 days. I candle as I put them in the bator (looking for cracked eggs) and at day 18 as I remove the turner. The bator is not opened between those days. My hatch rate is above 90 % over a years time. Good luck with your future hatches.
