Open the incubator or wait?

[Hantell]

day 22, 4 hatched yesterday and 1 sometime overnight.
The chicks that hatched yesterday are completely dry - and getting quite rambunctious. There are 5 eggs left that don’t appear to have pipped yet.
Would it be wrong to quickly remove the empty shells and day old chicks?

 

[NatJ]

day 22, 4 hatched yesterday and 1 sometime overnight.
The chicks that hatched yesterday are completely dry - and getting quite rambunctious. There are 5 eggs left that don’t appear to have pipped yet.
Would it be wrong to quickly remove the empty shells and day old chicks?

I would take out the chicks at this point.

Yes, you can take out the empty shells too, or you can leave them in-- it shouldn't be a big deal either way.

 

[Hantell]

I would take out the chicks at this point.

Yes, you can take out the empty shells too, or you can leave them in-- it shouldn't be a big deal either way.

Awesome thank you, I did move them out!
Any thoughts on the remaining 5?
Thought I saw some wiggling, but that could also be wishful thinking. I don’t hear any cheeping from them right now. Just planning on giving them more time and seeing what happens

 

[Ridgerunner]

Before the chicks hatch they should absorb the yolk. They can live on that yolk for 72 hours or more without eating or drinking. There is nothing that says you have to remove the chicks before that. But if the other eggs have not pipped you are unlikely to shrink wrap them by opening the incubator. You probably did no harm in taking them out. Many people do.

The reason chicks can go that long without eating or drinking is so the early hatchers can wait on the late hatchers before the hen has to take them off of the nest to find food and water. Sometimes my hatches, in the incubator or under a broody hen, are totally over within 16 hours. Sometimes they stretch out into the third day. You are on Day 22. I'd give them another two full days before I abandoned the hatch.

 

[Hantell]

Before the chicks hatch they should absorb the yolk. They can live on that yolk for 72 hours or more without eating or drinking. There is nothing that says you have to remove the chicks before that. But if the other eggs have not pipped you are unlikely to shrink wrap them by opening the incubator. You probably did no harm in taking them out. Many people do.

The reason chicks can go that long without eating or drinking is so the early hatchers can wait on the late hatchers before the hen has to take them off of the nest to find food and water. Sometimes my hatches, in the incubator or under a broody hen, are totally over within 16 hours. Sometimes they stretch out into the third day. You are on Day 22. I'd give them another two full days before I abandoned the hatch.

I will definitely give them that time, thank you.
It’s been a really rewarding and educational first experience so far!

 

[NatJ]

Any thoughts on the remaining 5?
Thought I saw some wiggling, but that could also be wishful thinking. I don’t hear any cheeping from them right now. Just planning on giving them more time and seeing what happens

I agree about giving them more time.

Before the chicks hatch they should absorb the yolk. They can live on that yolk for 72 hours or more without eating or drinking. There is nothing that says you have to remove the chicks before that. But if the other eggs have not pipped you are unlikely to shrink wrap them by opening the incubator. You probably did no harm in taking them out. Many people do.

I agree that they should be fine staying in or fine coming out.

The particular reasons I suggested taking them out:

With that many hatched, and no pips, the hatch might be over-- in which case the chicks might as well come out now as later.

If the other ones are going to hatch late, it is better not to be opening the incubator after they pip. If the already-hatched chicks are in the brooder, it is easier to resist opening the incubator (because the chicks are already out), and it is easier to see what is happening with the other eggs (no chicks sitting on them.)

 

[Finnie]

When you took the chicks out, did you candle the remaining eggs? I usually remove the dead looking ones and leave the potentially alive ones in. And then candle each day until I no longer see signs of life. Those never do pip, but I wait until they die on their own just in case.

Generally, as long as I see pips, I leave the dry chicks in until the last pip has zipped, hatched and dried off. Or stalled out. If it’s been hours and a zipper looks stuck or dead, I will try to get it out of its shell. If it’s been a long time since the last chick hatched, and I still have some pips that aren’t progressing, I will remove the dry chicks and candle the pips. They are usually dead in shell at that point. But if not, I give them more time. They still never hatch. What I’ve learned is that whatever causes a chick to be so much further behind than the main group, is some kind of problem that isn’t survivable.

 

[Hantell]

When you took the chicks out, did you candle the remaining eggs? I usually remove the dead looking ones and leave the potentially alive ones in. And then candle each day until I no longer see signs of life. Those never do pip, but I wait until they die on their own just in case.

Generally, as long as I see pips, I leave the dry chicks in until the last pip has zipped, hatched and dried off. Or stalled out. If it’s been hours and a zipper looks stuck or dead, I will try to get it out of its shell. If it’s been a long time since the last chick hatched, and I still have some pips that aren’t progressing, I will remove the dry chicks and candle the pips. They are usually dead in shell at that point. But if not, I give them more time. They still never hatch. What I’ve learned is that whatever causes a chick to be so much further behind than the main group, is some kind of problem that isn’t survivable.

I did!
It was a little more difficult to tell because I had some dark green eggs in there, but four of the five were pretty obviously no good and I had suspicions about the 5th.
We opened them up and two looked as though they never started developing, the other three stopped around day 5/6.