Old Fashioned Broody Hen Hatch A Long and Informational Thread

[NysiaAnera]

I was doing so well, but I just couldn't take it anymore and I had to sneak a peek. And... all five have hatched!!! So exciting! I took the picture very fast, so it is not the greatest, but all 5 are in it.

 

[NysiaAnera]

Here is one of the eggs that I think has two chicks in it

This is a one-chick egg, a black blob surfaces once in a while. It's a bit younger

And this is a video of the original egg I thought had two chicks in it, you can see them kicking each other in person.

Looks like two to me.

 

[chikenscratch]

I'd agree, there do seem to be two. The unfortunate odds are that twins don't survive to hatch. I hope that yours do, that would be so cool.

 

[Violetsfeathers]

I'd agree, there do seem to be two. The unfortunate odds are that twins don't survive to hatch. I hope that yours do, that would be so cool.

Yes it would
But there were so many others that I thought had two in them that I thought I was going crazy :/ I guess we'll see. The first egg hatches the 28, in two days, it has one chick. Then two more will hatch the 31 and one of them has twins

 

[Shilo7]

My splash Wyandotte ended up with 4 chicks out of the 15 she was sitting on.3- 4 non fertile 1 rotten. the rest we almost completely developed but died in the eggs with about the size of a nickel egg yolk attached to them. This was my first time, I will candle next time. What about the ones that died what could have caused this?

 

[Molpet]

My splash Wyandotte ended up with 4 chicks out of the 15 she was sitting on.3- 4 non fertile 1 rotten. the rest we almost completely developed but died in the eggs with about the size of a nickel egg yolk attached to them. This was my first time, I will candle next time. What about the ones that died what could have caused this?

maybe she got up during the last 3 days and they lost humdity

 

[Violetsfeathers]

Okay guys, so I realized I'm not hatching with a broody anymore, I'm using an incubator for the first time. But the egg that was supposed to hatch the 28th, I just heard it peep. The incubator is in my room, I thought I heard one peep earlier but figured it was my imagination. Just now (10:55 pm) I heard it peep more than once, I checked on it and there is no pip. I put it to my ear and heard tapping.
Something happened to the egg that was supposed to hatch on the same day as this one (it broke) so this chick is going to be alone for about three days

All my eggs are hatching at least 2 days early this year

 

[PD-Riverman]

Okay guys, so I realized I'm not hatching with a broody anymore, I'm using an incubator for the first time. But the egg that was supposed to hatch the 28th, I just heard it peep. The incubator is in my room, I thought I heard one peep earlier but figured it was my imagination. Just now (10:55 pm) I heard it peep more than once, I checked on it and there is no pip. I put it to my ear and heard tapping.

Something happened to the egg that was supposed to hatch on the same day as this one (it broke) so this chick is going to be alone for about three days

All my eggs are hatching at least 2 days early this year

I will let the Hands-on-hatchers help you, but wanted to follow.

 

[Violetsfeathers]

The egg has a pip in the shell this morning and peeped when I checked on it

 

[fisherlady]

The egg has a pip in the shell this morning and peeped when I checked on it

The chick internally pips many hours (as much as 24 hrs) before external pipping. Once they pip into the aircell you can hear them cheeping and the tapping is the chick starting to make it's external pip and finish any repositioning needed for hatch.
Once the external pip has occurred it may zip and hatch quickly or may rest for many hours before starting to zip. It is crucial to let the egg alone during this time to avoid humidity issues. If you open the incubator or lift the hen you can cause a loss of humidity which can cause shrink wrapping of the chick.
Remember that also during that last day or so the chick is absorbing the yolk and the blood from the vessels lining the egg membrane is being pulled back into the chick and the chick's system is basically cutting the umbilical cord from its dependance on the shell's protection. If you try to 'assist' the hatch you run a high risk of tearing blood vessels in the membrane or exposing the yolk sack before it has a chance to absorb.
So try to stay hands off as long as possible unless there is some sort of complication noted. You can search BYC for Sally Sunshines *Guide to assisted hatching* or the *hatching 101* article and read up on the process while you are waiting.