It’s the day we’ve all been waiting for: Hatch Day! For twenty-one days you’ve been peeking and listening. You’ve had chicks on the brain. Now you finally get to see those fluffy faces. So what can you expect? What does a successful hatch look like, when to intervene, and troubleshooting what might have gone wrong.
First and foremost, 21 days is not definite. Please do not start panicking when day twenty-one comes along and nothing has happened. More harm comes from over-eager hatchers than chicks dying from getting stuck. The chick will decide on its own time-table when it should come.
If you haven’t done it yet, make sure your brooder is setup and you’re in lockdown mode.
Pipping, Zipping & Hatching
On hatch day (day 18-25+) or the days leading up to it, the chick will peck until it breaks through the inner membrane (the part that separates the air cell from the chick). The is the gap you’ve seen when you’re candling the eggs. This is called internal pipping. At this time you might hear them cheeping away. After that, the chick will make a small hole in the outside of the egg. This hole is called the external pip. Many chicks take a long break at this point, so don’t worry if the egg stops rocking, chirping and/or progressing.
Once its dozed a bit, the chick will start to unzip the egg. Moving in a circle they will create a little line in the egg until enough has separated that they can push themselves out. Then you are blessed with a hideously ugly wet and nearly bald chick. Not what you were expecting? That’s okay! In an hour or two it will be the cute fluffy chick you’ve been imagining.
Removing Hatched Chicks
Some words of wisdom: Do not open the incubator to remove chicks unless you are dealing with one of two things. Either all of the chicks have hatched and are fluffy or it has been 48 hours since the first chick hatched. In that case, grab out all that are dry and fluffy and then close the lid quickly. If an unhatched egg has pipped internally it can get trapped due to the decrease of humidity (which happens quickly).
Intervening in a Hatch
If you feel you must intervene at some point in the hatching process, please read this very helpful post from Backyard Chickens. The author not only tells you when to assist and when to wait, but she has a great guide on how to assist and give your chick the best odds. I recommend reading before starting a hatch so you are prepared for the worst-case-scenario. Please be forewarned that some photos may be hard for some to see and she doesn’t sugar coat.
Why Some Eggs Don’t Hatch
Even with the best of care, some chicks just don’t make it. It’s a sad thing, but knowing what happened and why it may happen can at least make a loss into a learning experience. Here are a few things that may happen during incubation (as well as ways to prevent them):
Clear/Infertile Eggs
Caused by a variety of things including unhealthy males or females, seasonal fertility decline, eggs damaged by the environment (too hot or too cold) and incorrectly stored eggs.
To avoid clear/infertile eggs, make sure your breeders are healthy with a balanced diet, use younger cockerels, collect eggs frequently and be sure to store eggs at 50-60°F and 60% relative humidity for no more than 7 days.
Blood Rings (bacteria inside the egg)
Caused by improper storage, improper incubator temperatures and unclean storage, handling and incubating.
To avoid blood rings, do not attempt to hatch very dirty eggs, check your incubator temperatures and run a test run for several days before setting eggs and make sure that all things the eggs come into contact with are clean.
Early Quitters (chicks lost in the first week)
Caused by improper incubator temperatures (usually too high), not turning the eggs, poor ventilation or disease in the flock.
To avoid having early losses, again, do a test run so you know your incubator is running at the proper temperature, turn eggs at least 3 or 5 times a day (always in odd numbers), make sure that you have proper ventilation while avoiding drafts and always hatch eggs from a healthy flock.
Pipped Without Hatching
Caused by low humidity, lack of ventilation or malpositioned chicks. To avoid chicks getting stuck in the egg, make sure your humidity levels are around 40-45% for the first 18 days and 60-65% during lockdown (unless you are doing a dry hatch), make sure there is adequate air flow in the incubator and be sure to turn eggs up until lockdown and then hands off.
Not all losses are from human error. Sometimes you can do everything right and still have losses. Rarely do people get 100% hatch rates. We had one infertile egg, one blood ring, two early quitters and one chick we lost at hatch. I consider the thirteen out of eighteen a successful hatch.
Need some help raising those fluffy chicks? Check out these guides by friends of mine:
- Backyard Chickens 101 – Chick Care from Ever Growing Farm
- Starting Chicks at Home Without Breaking the Bank from Natural Wonderer
Happy hatching everyone! And if you have cute chick pics, I’d love to see them on our Facebook Page.
Don’t miss ⇒ The ultimate guide to raising laying hens.
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I washed my chicken eggs with water before I put them in incubator. Does that mean they won’t hatch?
We had a nest of duck eggs near our house, I looked this morning and saw some broken eggs, asuming a predator got to them, though there are 3 left from 11 eggs, should I leave them there or bring them in my house to see if they can hatch, thank you
J J
Hi. I have a Serema hen that has been broody for 21 days today. We have 8 eggs. I do not hear chirping or see any evidence of pipping. Should I be worried? She is very small and has been inside the entire time at a temp of 70.
If she’s still sitting then I wouldn’t worry. Hens will often abandon the nest if they decide the eggs aren’t viable. They may just be running a bit late.
Oh boy, am I ever jealous. We live on an old farm where they had an egg and milk business. We have a huge chicken coop and brooder house. Lovely buildings. The people voted to become a city, and now the city fathers won’t let anyone have chickens.Other small towns nearby allow chickens. Not ours.
Give those babies a hug from me, Jessica. I do love the names you pick.
Many people are working hard at overturning these ordinances. Often with a little homework and a chat at a town meeting you can get a few hens allowed. If this is something you are passionate about, feel free to send me an email and I’ll do anything I can to help.
While I’m not adventurous enough to have chickens, I wish I lived close to someone who did. FUN!
While it is definitely an adventure (and some days you think you’ve lost your mind) it’s a rewarding adventure. The fresh eggs, the constant antics and everyone running to you when you walk in the yard makes it all worth it.
Oh they are just precious!! Have fun naming them 🙂 I love how you describe them as ‘unzipping’ their eggs. Makes me imagine they are coming out of a sleeping bag.