Day 20: And we wait...

Zero pips...
​but I swear this egg on the left was moving...

What is "pipping" anyway? Well, it's when the chick uses the egg tooth on the tip of the beak to break through the shell. Right now (before pipping), the chick inside is breathing air via the egg's air cell. (Refer back to past photos to see the air cell at the top of the egg.) Once the chick pips through the shell, it will begin to breath the outside air. Once the chicks begin to pip, we will remove a plug that is currently in the front of the incubator, in order to allow more air into the incubator. 

The actual hatching isn't a quick process, though. After the initial pip, the chick will rest inside the shell-- most times for several hours-- getting acclimated to breathing air, and resting in preparation for the next phase of hatching. Then the chick will continue to use that egg tooth to move round and round in the egg, cutting through the shell. The chick will continue to slowly cut through the circumference of the shell until the bird can force the shell open with it's body from the inside. So really, the chick won't continue to peck at the same spot that was initially pipped, but instead cut a nice slice around the egg --- I find this part so amazing to imagine. The bird turning inside the egg to continue to slice around the circumference of the shell. AMAZING, God! (Oh, and the chicks lose the egg tooth within the first few days after hatching. They just don't need it anymore!)
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This process is hard work! So we wait, and we watch for pipping. Then we wait some more, and we let those little chicks rest and get ready for the exhausting - but exciting - beginning of life outside the shell. ​

We hope you're enjoying this process with us! Here is a wonderful page at Raising Happy Chickens that gives more detail -and pictures- regarding the pipping and hatching process. ​https://www.raising-happy-chickens.com/chick-hatching.html

What's been happening inside that shell?

• Day 20: Yolk is fully absorbed by the chick. Chick is breathing via the egg's air cell.
• Day 21: Pipping and hatching begins!
  

If you'd like to view daily images of chick development, you may like one of these sites: (please check the graphics before showing them to children) 

• Ohio Chick Quest Calendar Presentation
• ACES Chick Embryo Development
• Poultry Hub Chick Embryo Development Poster

Today's Stats:

Temperature: 99.6 degrees
Humidity: 73%

*Humidity is supposed to be at 90% during hatching process. We filled all water troughs inside the incubator and the sponges are soaked. Condensation is forming on the incubator window, and yet humidity readings have not gone higher than 76 percent. We believe the sensor to be reading incorrectly, and that our humidity is in the 90-100% range.