Where's the best place for a chick to pip?

[starkist72]

Hi, the kids and I are sitting here with our faces glued to the incubator window.

Our first chick pipped at the direct top middle of the egg and seems to be zipping fine.

I'm just wondering WHERE the best place for them to pip is.

I don't think I've ever seen one pip at the center top before, always on the side of the top on my successful chicks (then they cut away a circle). I've had middle sides and even pointy bottoms that didn't make it.

This was my first time using a turner, in the past I've hand turned on their sides. When I took them out of the turner for lock down I noticed the air sacks seems more on top with them staying more upright, does that make any difference?

 

[AmericanMom]

Hi, the kids and I are sitting here with our faces glued to the incubator window.

Our first chick pipped at the direct top middle of the egg and seems to be zipping fine.

I'm just wondering WHERE the best place for them to pip is.

I don't think I've ever seen one pip at the center top before, always on the side of the top on my successful chicks (then they cut away a circle). I've had middle sides and even pointy bottoms that didn't make it.

This was my first time using a turner, in the past I've hand turned on their sides. When I took them out of the turner for lock down I noticed the air sacks seems more on top with them staying more upright, does that make any difference?

Typically they pip in the middle or twords the low end of the air cell, It dips pretty far on one side... My last hatch I had one pip almost smack dab in the middle on the top and although it concerned me it hatched just fine...
Typically when I move eggs into lockdown I candle and mark the air cell and mark where I think the chick should pip, sometimes Im right on and other times I am not.. This eggs air cell grew even more after I marked it but you can clearly see the chick has internally piped

 

[AmericanMom]

Hi, the kids and I are sitting here with our faces glued to the incubator window.

Our first chick pipped at the direct top middle of the egg and seems to be zipping fine.

I'm just wondering WHERE the best place for them to pip is.

I don't think I've ever seen one pip at the center top before, always on the side of the top on my successful chicks (then they cut away a circle). I've had middle sides and even pointy bottoms that didn't make it.

This was my first time using a turner, in the past I've hand turned on their sides. When I took them out of the turner for lock down I noticed the air sacks seems more on top with them staying more upright, does that make any difference?

sorry, I didn't read this far

I too have noticed a difference when I use my turner v hand turning but in the end once I go into lockdown and see which side the air cell dips more I know that's the side that I need to have facing up and haven't (to date) had any issues.. I am using my turner for the first time since spring ( three hatches in between) and I have noticed the cell is a bit different than my last hatch (last month)

 

[starkist72]

It's all very interesting, and there's always more to learn!

I'm happy to report that that chick made it out successfully (and quickly!) Next time I will angle the eggs differently for hatching though, it would have been easier to see (and maybe a little easier to hatch) if I had angled the air cell towards the hatching window

instead of zipping around the egg in a circle, the chick actually zipped a large hole on the end, and when she pushed the shell cracked into large sections and she left the egg nearer whole then the chicks who zip in a circle and pop the two sides off (do I make any sense?)

It was only about 6 hours from pip to hatch, and she doesn't seem very tired. I think I'll be using the turner from now on

 

[starkist72]

just as an update, the next few chicks hatched out the "normal" way, unzipped a top and popped it off. Then they were tired and rested apparently my first was just super-chicken