Help hatching peacock and pheasant eggs

[kris1990]

Me and my boyfriend have been trying to hatch peacocks and pheasants for few months now. The first time we had 6 peacock eggs but no one made it out we were keeping high humidity and high temperature during the whole incubation. The second try was with pheasants. We kept humidity around 75% during the whole incubation. From 6 eggs only 2 chicks made it out (Chip and Ka). One didn't develop at all. 3 pipped but the membrane dried around them and they suffocated. We listened to Internet and we didn't interfere,even tho we felt bad later because we could save more than just these 2. The third time was due now. We mixed peacock and pheasant eggs in the incubator-we had 2 peacock eggs (one was due today and one is due in about a week) and 4 pheasant eggs (they were due yesterday). The humidity this time we tried to keep around 60% (the lowest it went to was 45% and the highest was 75%) during the incubation and the last days was always above 80%. Yesterday when I came home I saw that one of the pheasant eggs was almost broken. I didn't try to help him. When my boyfriend came home we decided to see what's going on because the egg wouldn't move...for this guy was too late the membrane completely dried around the whole egg and the baby couldn't make it through. We saw that 2 more pipped the shell and we decided to help them. All the eggs had completely dried membrane. We applied some warm water and pilled the shell around the pipped area and he chicks were still alive. We broke the last pheasant egg too but was too late for this chick,it died inside. The peacock was due tonight but we were a litter impatient and we cracked the shell earlier to see if there is any development...the baby was moving. But both membranes that were around the baby were completely dry and kinda gummy and very thick. We listened to Internet and we wrapped the egg in a wet paper towel...few mins later the baby stopped breathing.
Can someone tell me why the membrane completely dried after the humidity was so high during the whole time. And did we do a fatal mistake by cracking the peacock egg shell? Would it survive if we had broken the inner membrane too and let him out? Would it made it through the dried membranes? We feel really bad about it and we don't want to make the same mistake with the one that's due in few days. The one that died today was the first peacock we ever had developed to this stage.
P.S. We use EGGCUBATOR brand. And there is a picture of our new pheasant babies. They are still in incubator.

 

[GitaBooks]

I'm really sorry to hear about that.

Hatching eggs is suppose to be exciting, not sad. Unfortunately, it turns out not that best a lot. I've only ever hatched chicken eggs, and only once in an incubator, however, we have helped a lot of chicks out of shells that were too weak or when the shell was too tough for them to get out. Chicks that can't get out don't often make it, even if assisted, because they were too weak to break out and fail to thrive, especially if they were assisted too early.

Could your birds have come from a flock with poor genetics or where the parents were inbred? Or a flock with poor nutrition? Were temperature right in the incubator? A chick that can't slice through the membrane is probably too weak. The membrane dries up as the chick absorbs the blood from it.

When we assist chicks here is what we do: We first listen to where they are pecking at the shell. We then very carefully use a needle to pry up a piece of the shell in that area. We carefully break the membrane so the chick can breath, but often the membrane bleeds a little so then we set it down and wait for the chick to absorb the blood or else we just pick the shell (in the ring the chick would) and leave the membrane. The chick may then hatch on its own, or it may just need removed form the shell. Care should be taken, as they may be attached to the shell still by their umbilical cord, and this should not be broken. It should be left alone to dry up and drop off.

I hope that your chicks do well.

 

[Bryam]

Me and my boyfriend have been trying to hatch peacocks and pheasants for few months now. The first time we had 6 peacock eggs but no one made it out we were keeping high humidity and high temperature during the whole incubation. The second try was with pheasants. We kept humidity around 75% during the whole incubation. From 6 eggs only 2 chicks made it out (Chip and Ka). One didn't develop at all. 3 pipped but the membrane dried around them and they suffocated. We listened to Internet and we didn't interfere,even tho we felt bad later because we could save more than just these 2. The third time was due now. We mixed peacock and pheasant eggs in the incubator-we had 2 peacock eggs (one was due today and one is due in about a week) and 4 pheasant eggs (they were due yesterday). The humidity this time we tried to keep around 60% (the lowest it went to was 45% and the highest was 75%) during the incubation and the last days was always above 80%. Yesterday when I came home I saw that one of the pheasant eggs was almost broken. I didn't try to help him. When my boyfriend came home we decided to see what's going on because the egg wouldn't move...for this guy was too late the membrane completely dried around the whole egg and the baby couldn't make it through. We saw that 2 more pipped the shell and we decided to help them. All the eggs had completely dried membrane. We applied some warm water and pilled the shell around the pipped area and he chicks were still alive. We broke the last pheasant egg too but was too late for this chick,it died inside. The peacock was due tonight but we were a litter impatient and we cracked the shell earlier to see if there is any development...the baby was moving. But both membranes that were around the baby were completely dry and kinda gummy and very thick. We listened to Internet and we wrapped the egg in a wet paper towel...few mins later the baby stopped breathing.
Can someone tell me why the membrane completely dried after the humidity was so high during the whole time. And did we do a fatal mistake by cracking the peacock egg shell? Would it survive if we had broken the inner membrane too and let him out? Would it made it through the dried membranes? We feel really bad about it and we don't want to make the same mistake with the one that's due in few days. The one that died today was the first peacock we ever had developed to this stage.
P.S. We use EGGCUBATOR brand. And there is a picture of our new pheasant babies. They are still in incubator.

Um, if you know they are stuck in the egg, why don't you make a pip hole and see what is going? I know it is not recommended to intervien, but you should if they are dying right before hatching. If the membrane is dry I always help them out. I just hatch 5 call ducks, if I would of helped them zip, I would have ended up with 2 ducklings, instead of 5. Sometimes the humidity drops and they get shrink wrapped. They are trapped and can't get out, not because they are weak. We just haven't perfectly copied the magic a hen does.

Good luck to you!

 

[Bryam]

Once the chick starts to zip, they have a rather short amount of time to free themselves from the egg, before it dries up. The breaking of the membrane causes the humidity to leave the egg quickly, that is all part of the hatching process.

I hope that answered your question!