When is hatch "over"? thanks for words of wisdom in advance!

[TOL Chick]

Newbie and curious - at what point does one say the hatch is over?

I am towards the end of a staggered hatch of Dorking Chickens (end of day 21), and I still have eggs from my first "hatch" on day 23 with no movement, approximately 4 with no pip, and one with.

Hatch 2 - is at the end of day 21, of 11 eggs, I've hatched 7 today. I have one pipped and partially zipped, I can see him breathing, and he's been that way the majority of the day. If he's not out by the morning, I'm planning on going in and "helping" him. I'm guessing he may be stuck in his membrane?

Any suggestions/guidance would be greatly appreciated....

 

[kathyinmo]

I have heard people say to wait 25 days. I don't like long drawn out hatches, and I check them (if they are not hatched) the day after most of them are already out. If I hear a chick when I tap the egg, then I return it and wait on it. You could also candle and see what you have, if you think the hatch is over.

 

[TOL Chick]

Thanks so MUCH Kathy for the thoughts - will do inventory here in a bit - 5 chicks in the bator now that need to go into the brooder, and one that had a bit of a rough go yesterday afternoon - whom I will leave in to keep my other little fella company while he finishes his journey out of the shell.

I'll do the tap method, and see what I can come up with.

So, I guess out of 20 eggs, I have 11 hatched, one zipped who needs a little assistance, I suppose that is fairly good for a first hatch. Thanks to BYC for all the moral support through this - I'll be much better my next go aroud.

 

[A.T. Hagan]

I don't think one can put a clear line to "this is long enough" occurs. It depends on hatching conditions. Sometimes they all seem to go into overtime.

For myself I'm not interesting in keeping weak and/or deformed chicks. If I've had a good strong hatch from most of the eggs and it's down to just a few stragglers that don't seem to be progressing then I'm done with them. Hatchability is one of the traits I'm selecting for and I don't want poor hatchers in the mix. If it's day twenty two and only a handful have hatched then I'll assume it's something I did wrong and wait a bit longer. We candle before moving into the hatching trays so the ones that do get moved should have been viable at the time.

 

[TOL Chick]

A.T. Hagan :

I don't think one can put a clear line to "this is long enough" occurs. It depends on hatching conditions. Sometimes they all seem to go into overtime.

For myself I'm not interesting in keeping weak and/or deformed chicks. If I've had a good strong hatch from most of the eggs and it's down to just a few stragglers that don't seem to be progressing then I'm done with them. Hatchability is one of the traits I'm selecting for and I don't want poor hatchers in the mix. If it's day twenty two and only a handful have hatched then I'll assume it's something I did wrong and wait a bit longer. We candle before moving into the hatching trays so the ones that do get moved should have been viable at the time.

Thanks for the insight on the "long enough" aspect. I am more than sure, that with this being my first hatch, that most of the issues I'm facing are pilot error, getting used to my incubator and how it operates, managing temps & humidity. I did candle all the eggs I placed in "lock down", as I started out with 32, so only 20 went in. Just want to make sure I'm giving them adequate time before I clear out the incubator and get ready for my next batch.

I understand your point on the deformed chick, and I'll certainly cull him if he does not straighten out in the next day or two - need to focus on the strong healthy birds, for a strong healthy flock.​