Day 21: Little Development but with Signs of Life PLEASE HELP!

[tothefifth powe]

Hello!
I am hatching chicken eggs in a Little Giant Still air incubator at a constant 99.5˚ (I know its low).
Today is the expected hatch day (Day 21, 100% positive it is day 21). I decided to candle my eggs and I was surprised. All of the chicks (5) seem tiny! There is a yellow see-through section of the egg at the bottom (small end) of the egg. The chick inside is moving, in fact, 2 out of the 5 were rocking the eggs before hand. Sadly they all seem very very tiny and I'm worried. Here is a diagram of what I mean.


Here is the candeing, notice egg is small end down and large end up in the image. Also the air sack is not visible (although it is pretty big) because the light isn't aimed at it.


The chicks all show signs of life, rocking back in fourth, visible movement inside shell during candling. Will any be able to hatch? Please help and give me advice on what can be done/ what went wrong. Tomorrow will be day 22 btw. Thank you so much!

 

[AmyLynn2374]

Hello!
I am hatching chicken eggs in a Little Giant Still air incubator at a constant 99.5˚ (I know its low).
Today is the expected hatch day (Day 21, 100% positive it is day 21). I decided to candle my eggs and I was surprised. All of the chicks (5) seem tiny! There is a yellow see-through section of the egg at the bottom (small end) of the egg. The chick inside is moving, in fact, 2 out of the 5 were rocking the eggs before hand. Sadly they all seem very very tiny and I'm worried. Here is a diagram of what I mean.


Here is the candeing, notice egg is small end down and large end up in the image. Also the air sack is not visible (although it is pretty big) because the light isn't aimed at it.


The chicks all show signs of life, rocking back in fourth, visible movement inside shell during candling. Will any be able to hatch? Please help and give me advice on what can be done/ what went wrong. Tomorrow will be day 22 btw. Thank you so much!

If you really want to see what's going on, you need to candle from the air cell end. That is the presepctive that will guide you with what is going on. Now, since you are running at forced air temps in a still air and the egg has that much extra room, the most logical conclusion is that because you are at least 2 degrees low, your development is delayed. The chicks are behind in growth. You may be able to get a couple delayed hatchers before they give up, but remember, the farther you get from that day 21 the less chance of healthy chicks hatching. Don't give up though, my very first hatch my BRAND NEW thermometer (that I never checked for accuracy) was off a whole 6 degrees and my eggs were incubated (unknowingly) at 93-94F the entire incubation and I ended up with one survivor day 24 and one that hatched but died day 25. The survivor did start showing signs of leg problems as he grew, but he's almost 1 1/2 now and though he's special needs because of his leg, he's still here. (I had 17 go into lockdown all very active and alive. I thought they looked behind, but was hoping I was wrong.)

 

[AmyLynn2374]

And if you haven't seen it yet, here is an awesome guide to candling and comparison: https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/...g-candling-pics-progression-though-incubation

 

[tothefifth powe]

One egg is peeping and shaking ferociously! Have I stricken gold, or can under-developed chicks chirp and move anyways.
One other egg is shaking, and candling on day 22 all show a distorted air sack (meaning they have torn through it?).
Quote: By "active and alive" did you mean they were moving inside the egg (during candling) or shaking and peeping?
Today is day 22 btw! And yes you were right, the temperature is probably too low.

 

[AmyLynn2374]

One egg is peeping and shaking ferociously! Have I stricken gold, or can under-developed chicks chirp and move anyways.
One other egg is shaking, and candling on day 22 all show a distorted air sack (meaning they have torn through it?).
By "active and alive" did you mean they were moving inside the egg (during candling) or shaking and peeping?
Today is day 22 btw! And yes you were right, the temperature is probably too low.

They were moving and flipping during candling.
Still air should be 101-102 taken near the top of the eggs. To incubate at 99.5 would slow the development and cause a delayed hatch.
If you are hearing peeping, then that chick has internally pipped. Which means it's only a matter of time before an external pip. (Usually sometime w/in 24 hours after internal you see an external pip.) That's an excellent sign. If by distorted air cell you are refering to a triangular(ish) shape sticking up in the air cell, that is the beak and the internal pip. If you are talking about the shape and largeness of the air cell, that is a drawn down air cell.

Keep us posted. Hopefully by morning if not before you'll see an external pip and have a hatcher out by tomorrow night.

Because of the delayed development and hatch, I would have some electrolyte additive in the water after they hatch. I use sav a chick in my water for every hatch, but I would definitely recommend it or another electrolyte based additive because they could be weaker from the prolonged hatch.

 

[tothefifth powe]

One cracked semi-circumference of the shell, and then all the sudden stopped. He died sadly . But 4 others look ready! (3 poked the airsick)

 

[AmyLynn2374]

One cracked semi-circumference of the shell, and then all the sudden stopped. He died sadly . But 4 others look ready! (3 poked the airsick)

Sorry to hear that.