Saddled egg intervention urgent

[Ilovechickens2525]

Need some advice, time sensitive!

Hi, I’m on day 20 and have several eggs in the incubator. All my crele legbar eggs have pips other than the one lone egg with a severely saddled air sac. I’ve marked the air sac, it’s completely on the side so I’m fairly confident this chick will not be able to pip on its own.

I have had shipped eggs with saddled air sacs before and waited too long to intervene and gone in and found them already died, unable to pip and breath on their own. I don’t want that to happen again.

I’m worried about waiting too long and this chick dieing. I know it’s still alive now because the egg was moving a few hours ago.

There are two other chicks already hatched in the incubator and 4 with pips, including all the others of the same breed.

There are several that haven’t pipped yet, since it’s only day 20. But different breeds.

Anyone with experience with intervention experience with saddled eggs have advice?

My gut is saying this chick will never pip if I don’t intervene…

Pic attached showing where the air sac is.

 

[HollowOfWisps]

I have had several hatch with saddled air cells just fine. If you decide to intervene wait until they internally pip and give them an air hole.

 

[Ilovechickens2525]

I have had several hatch with saddled air cells just fine. If you decide to intervene wait until they internally pip and give them an air hole.

How can I tell if they internally pip?

I had 4 die last time so I’m just worrying a lot based on that personal experience. I can see it moving and my heart is just breaking at the thought of letting this little one die.

 

[HollowOfWisps]

How can I tell if they internally pip?

I had 4 die last time so I’m just worrying a lot based on that personal experience. I can see it moving and my heart is just breaking at the thought of letting this little one die.

When you candle look for the beak or chick moving inside the air cell space. Not my picture, but this is internally pipped.

 

[Ilovechickens2525]

When you candle look for the beak or chick moving inside the air cell space. Not my picture, but this is internally pipped.
View attachment 4088615

Ok and you don’t think I should intervene unless it internally pips?

My worry is it won’t be able to pip based on where the air cell is

 

[Susan Skylark]

Even intervention may not save these chicks. My last hatch was shipped eggs with saddled air cells, strangely several of the saddled eggs hatched while some normal seeming ones didn’t. I intervened with 3, one never pipped, got it open and he was too weak even to crawl out of the shell. The two others were underdeveloped though full term and pipped, egg yolks absorbed, both died shortly after hatch. Half my chicks died in shell or should have. The saddled air cells were a symptom, not the main problem, they were a sign of severe shipping trauma which resulted in weak and deformed chicks. If backwards chicks can hatch, so can a saddled egg, but the question is can it actually survive outside the shell? There are rare cases where a chick needs help but in general there is a reason they don’t hatch. It is hard and heartbreaking but it’s how things work. Don’t help these chicks if you don’t also have the heart to euthanize those that won’t make it on their own. Hope you get a decent hatch!

 

[Ilovechickens2525]

Even intervention may not save these chicks. My last hatch was shipped eggs with saddled air cells, strangely several of the saddled eggs hatched while some normal seeming ones didn’t. I intervened with 3, one never pipped, got it open and he was too weak even to crawl out of the shell. The two others were underdeveloped though full term and pipped, egg yolks absorbed, both died shortly after hatch. Half my chicks died in shell or should have. The saddled air cells were a symptom, not the main problem, they were a sign of severe shipping trauma which resulted in weak and deformed chicks. If backwards chicks can hatch, so can a saddled egg, but the question is can it actually survive outside the shell? There are rare cases where a chick needs help but in general there is a reason they don’t hatch. It is hard and heartbreaking but it’s how things work. Don’t help these chicks if you don’t also have the heart to euthanize those that won’t make it on their own. Hope you get a decent hatch!

Thank you for the reply, these are hard things to deal with. It is heartbreaking.

My last batch of shipped eggs only 6/16 hatched. Some weren’t fertilized to begin with, and a couple were quitters. But 4 saddled airsac chicks never made it. Gone by the time I intervened, 2 were fully developed.

This is the only one this time, I think shipping was much smoother this time around. I poked a tiny hole in the shell tonight. I don’t know if that was the right call or not, I just had to give it oxygen just incase it is able to sort itself on its own to hatch. I did not hear any chirping though so I fear it’s already gone…