Saturday was day 21 for my hatch. I had 2 that actually hatched out very late Friday night and then some of the others slowly hatched between Saturday and Sunday evening. I still have a number though that haven't piped yet. Would you leave those in for another day or so to see what happens? My temps have been dead on 100. My humidity is averaging around 65, but has been no lower than 60 and no higher than 70 for short periods. I also had two that piped and zipped ok, but the first chicks that hatched kept sitting atop those eggs. One did die, and the other one finally made it out at 12:05 this morning. I would tap on the side of the bator wwhen they would get up there and they would get off, but then right back on. It seemed as though when the chicks in the eggs would chirp, the others would pounce on the egg and just sit on top of it like they were broody. Sounds crazy, but it happened. Could this cause a chick to suffocate because it couldn't push the shell and extra chick out of the way?
I would leave them in there until day 24 is over... there may be some stragglers in the bunch. Yes, having some chicks stomping around in the bator could have impeded the others' attempts to get out of their shells... hopefully that is not what is happening. As soon as those already-hatched babies are dry, take 'em out of the bator so the unborn ones can catch a break. Best of luck! ~Cherlyn
