Very small air cells on day 16 - Please help me save these babies.

[Arielle]

Cute chicks! Adorable!!

Yes that is the book by Janet Stromberg. Again, much of the info came out of the egg hatching industry but it is a very good starting point.

I just know some ducks are different than other ducks! LOL My last hatch I went looking for unpipped ducklings that were internally pipped. Rescued one.

Mahonri does two, a New Years and an Easter hatch a thon. About 360 people did the easter hatch. A blast. Some 11,000 posts in that thread. Met a lot of people! Contests with prizes--best hatch and worst hatch and many more. Guess how many Mahonri would hatch. And of course I all starts LONG before set date to remind people to line up eggs, and then goes on long after for cute baby pictures and such. Hard to keep up with the thread.

I need to go do chores. Back later.

 

[calichickies]

Oh!!! OH!!!

We have a pip already!!!
8:45am day 19
Yippee!!
I was taking my very first egg into the bathroom to candle it this morning, and as soon as I candled it I was so happy to see that the air cell had increased quite substantially!! *Whew!*
Then I was making a pencil mark around the new air cell and my pencil hit a star crack!!
I couldn't help myself...
I opened the crack with some tweezers and opened the membrane too--
and inside was a beak alive and breathing. Oh my gosh I couldn't wait to put it backtin the bator and get on the computer and tell you all about it.

This was a very dark chocolate chocolate chip egg, daddy is an Americauna and mama is a brown hen-- not sure what breed she is but she lays the most unusual looking eggs. They look like they should be eagle eggs or something exotic. She is my friend's hen.
Yay!!

Oh I am so pleased that the eggs have improved so much in the last 3 days- Whew!!

I'll update more later. Thanks!

 

[calichickies]

Oh and FYI...
the temp has been 97/99 all night and the H 36/27

 

[calichickies]

Candling more...
one at a time.
And everyone is so active. Yay!!
No one else has a pip that I see... yet.
Their air cells look SO much better. I can't believe the improvement in just 3 days.
And of course I have my 4 chicks that already hatched in the same room so I can't hear if any of the eggs are peeping.

Now...
should I add a sponge of warm water?
I have been trying so hard to keep any and all moisture out...
now it's hard to think of putting water in. But the H was just at 22/27 so
I think it may be time for some moisture for hatching.
What do you think?
Wait for some more pips, or add a sponge now?

 

[calichickies]

Ok.
Since there is one that will be trying to hatch soon I added the sponge.
I feel good about it.
When I added the sponge I noticed that the duck eggs are starting to pip too!?!
I didn't expect those until Friday or Saturday and it's just Wednesday... hmmm.

Information that may be of interest:

Of the 11 chicken eggs there are 9 that have lost drastic weight in the past 3 days-- Very good.
Interesting to note that these are eggs that have a thinner shell, some are even very porous. These eggs are from a person that may not be feeding his chickens oyster shell or other such high quality food. The other 2 that have not lost nearly enough weight are from a very high quality chicken feeder person. Odd. In this case the low quality of egg may have actually helped these eggs lose weight and get ready for their hatch in time. Those other 2 high quality eggs do not look promising, so much fluid still surrounds the chick, and I can still see veins and such. They are active and alive, I just hope they can hang out in the eggs a bit longer and use up some of that fluid. The other 9 look great and are ready to go!
Some people say that the porous and thin shelled eggs are bad for hatching, but in this case it just may have been exactly what saved their lives. Of course they haven't hatched just yet-- but their chances have vastly improved over the thicker shelled eggs.

 

[Arielle]

Unbeleiveable!!! YOu did it!!!!!

Ihave my chicks zip without added moisture, I don't know why this works when all the redings says to increase the moisture levels.

If the air cells are big enough on all the eggs, adding water is no longer a concern.

 

[calichickies]

Unbeleiveable!!! YOu did it!!!!!

Ihave my chicks zip without added moisture, I don't know why this works when all the redings says to increase the moisture levels.

If the air cells are big enough on all the eggs, adding water is no longer a concern.

Yay!!

No one has hatched all the way yet, but I am feeling SO much better about their air cells.
Whew!

Good to know about them possibly not needing any added moisture.
I know after one has hatched the H goes way up so maybe that helps all the others?
Thanks again for the encouragement and support.
I'll keep you updated as soon as anything else happens.
Keeping my hopes up!

 

[Arielle]

Once they have externally pipped you can help them if necessary, they maybe too swollen with moisture to zip. Perhaps note the time of pip on each, if you can, and if no progress, help to open the shell about 18-24 hours after external pip.

DO you know how to do this?? I was so scared the first time, I read everything, the need to open using sterile tools, etc. I'm a bit more ham fisted about it. LOL Once there is a pip you can use that as a start and gently break off small chunks of shell. I find it is very friable and breaks easily. Pull back the WHITE membrane to reveal the clear membrane with the veins running thru it. THese need to be VERY fine and hard to see. If they are prominant, leeave the chick, and wait for that blood to be absorbed. You can check every 8 hours until you get a feel for it.

I like to make a lid and let the chick push its way out. IMO the pushing with it's feet prepares it for mobility later and makes walking easier. It could get stuck by having the membranes dry onto it's feathers, so the chick should progress, if not, it may need further help.

I'm so excited for you!! WOuld like to see all these chicks hatch!!

 

[calichickies]

Oh Thanks for the info and also the *permission* to help!

I forgot that they may be too swollen to zip!

I have helped in the past, and I knew not to do anything until they pip on their own or you may hit a blood vessel. Something I learned on byc of course
I just wanted to be sure they had a nice clear air hole to breath thru as they worked. I did note the pip time, *help time*, and final hatch time on my last four and I will use that as a guide. Of the four, only had one that hatched all on her own. And they are all doing fantastic... 4 & 5 days old now.

Thanks again for the info and directions! I really appreciate it.

I can hardly wait to update you with my next report!

 

[Arielle]

I can hardly wait too--but this is the waiting time. Wait, wait wait. All in due time. Isn't that the phrase?? LOL

How many eggs went into lockdown?