WE'RE IN LABOR!!!! First pip!!!

[Sweetpea3829]

I'm so excited!!! Our first chick has just pipped! I have my brood box turned on and am ready to go!

 

[bugglesmommy]

Just like labor hatching can take a very long time. Like over 24 hours sometimes - long. After a chick hatches they can survive on the yolk alone for 3 days. Leave them in the incubator until the hatch is complete. You don't want to lose humidity pulling out chicks as they come.

 

[Sweetpea3829]

Is the humidity that important at this point? (I'm not trying to ask in a snarky way....we just really have no idea...lol). Because I've been opening the lid of my incubator to peek in quite a bit. Ours is an older incubator, borrowed from the neighbor and the windows are difficult to see through.

 

[nbenevento]

The humidity is more important now than at any other time during the incubation. You may already know that you should have raised the humidity up to probably 65% or so. Congratulations on your chicks!

 

[bugglesmommy]

You do not want to open that lid again. Humidity drops can cause chicks to become stuck to the shell and unable to hatch or "shrink wrapped" - when the membrane dries out and shrinks around the chick. This may kill them and will certainly render them unable to hatch on their own. That's why you need to keep the humidity up especially now. No more peeks!

 

[Sweetpea3829]

Ok, thanks for the advice!!! Well poo! I was hoping to watch!

 

[bobbi-j]

I agree with bugglesmommy - keep the lid shut! Now that you know how much fun this incubating thing can be, maybe you want to invest in a little table-top incubator with a plastic cover so you can watch the whole process. I have been known to sit up all night, just watching a chick hatch. (DH thinks I'm nuts) I know the big-time die-hard breeders and hatchers may scorn these little incubators, but for my purposes, it works just fine. If I don't get a 100% hatch, oh well. It's more for my enjoyment than anything anyway. Enjoy your babies!

 

[bugglesmommy]

I have also been up til the wee hours watching hatches. Enough to recommend going to bed. There's a good chance the baby won't hatch before then and one way or the other depriving yourself of sleep isn't going to help. Plus its easier to keep your hands off if you are not awake. I know how hard that can be and I CAN see inside my bator. Do you have a strong flashlight? I have an easier time seeing inside when I set a LED flashlight on top.

 

[Sweetpea3829]

Yeah, I'm off to bed. I figure it'll be better to wake up early, when the hubby is leaving for work. I just found my LED flashlight and will peek in through the window (but I won't open, I promise!).

Wouldn't it just be easier if we could just peel the shell off for them? LOL! I promise, though....hands off. The kids are going to be so excited tomorrow morning!!!

 

[bugglesmommy]

The membrane is filled with blood vessels. Right now the chick is absorbing the blood into its body along with the yolk sack. If you try and help too soon the chick will bleed to death. It is very important to NEVER jump the gun on helping. Once the chick finishes absorbing it will peck a line around the top of the shell and push out. This is called "zipping".