# 32 day old egg won't hatch



## battler (Sep 4, 2005)

I've talked to a vet that told me the chick inside was still alive, he told me to not touch the egg, what I don't get is that the baby won't crack it open, what should I do, and has anything like this happened to anybody?


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## Pidgey (May 20, 2005)

32 days would be a world record. It's rarely more than 19 days and can abbreviate to almost 14 in relatively hot weather.

Pidgey


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## Pigeonpal2002 (Jul 27, 2002)

Never heard of such a thing, I'm inclined to question this vet's knowledge or suggestion. Are you sure this egg is 32 days old? Is there evidence of the shell being pipped? Can you hear the baby peeping inside or is the egg moving? 

If you answered "no" to these questions, then I can't see how it's possible at all.


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## Jiggs (Apr 1, 2005)

Are the birds still on the eggs?
Are they pigeons?

If they are pigeons they should have got up and left them a while ago!


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## Mistifire (May 27, 2004)

If you have a bright light you may be able to see through the shell in a dark room and see what is going on in there, you can do a search on google for "candling eggs" and there will be pictures of what an egg looks like if an embrio has died inside, looking for movement is not always a sign, there may be bubbles or mold in a bad egg that can look like a baby. 

By now you should see only an air cell and the rest would be dark, and if you squeek to the egg it should squeek back, if you are unsure if it is viable or not, leave it a few more days and then if it doesnt hatch it is probably not going to. If you are brave and curious about the development stage it got to you can carefully open the egg from the air cell and see how far it got in growth. It can help you find what may have gone wrong. Can you double check your setting dates?


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## Steelers Army (Mar 3, 2006)

*Hen wont sit on egg*

  
I have same problem like you Battler an egg from a pair, I know the bird is still in it but not cracking the egg yet; is this possible its almost 24 days now and still in it. and also whats your suggestion on a hen that lays an egg/s and wont sit down on it, I tried to let other pair to sit and hatch the egg before but the egg end up cracked open and the yolk sticks on the hens feathers.

Same hen I mentioned above lay the egg today. I will wait for this hen to lay the other egg out probably this wed. but I know for sure she only brings it out but never sit on it. Shud I put her and the cock in a nestbox & let them stay, where both of them cant go anywhere to roam around the loft or shud I just let them do what they have to do?

I wish I can convince another pair to sit down and hatch the egg but that wud be impossible to do or force them to sit on someones egg...Is there any other ways beside incubator machine to hatch this egg/s? My armpit is not warm enough to incubate this eggs


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## battler (Sep 4, 2005)

it doesn't really move anymore only once in a while now, I want to pop it open to see what happens but I'm scared it might die.


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## Reti (Jul 20, 2003)

Do not open the egg, under no circumstances. It will kill the baby.
Are you sure the egg is 32 days old?

Reti


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## battler (Sep 4, 2005)

it is 33 now, but imma open it on the 35th and see what happens


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## TAWhatley (Mar 6, 2001)

battler said:


> it is 33 now, but imma open it on the 35th and see what happens


Well, get prepared! If your days are off, you will kill a potentially viable baby .. if your days are correct, you may pass out from what you find and the smell of it .. or it may be dessicated in the egg, in which case .. you are safe.

Terry


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## Mistifire (May 27, 2004)

The ones I have opened in the past didnt have a smell. They were kinda sad though, some loked like babys.


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## relofts (Apr 8, 2004)

If you are sure the youngster has been in the shell for 34 days then it did not survive and as Terry stated you need to be ready for this, I am going to give you some suggestions here that will help you with checking without actually injuring the youngster if your days are off.

1. Get a small pin light and go into your closet and cup your fingers around the egg and hold the pin light on the underside of the egg and look to see what you see check out this link http://www.guineafowl.com/fritsfarm/guineas/candling/ Now if it is solid as you see in the pictures, look at where you see the air cell, as it get's close for the chic to hatch the air cell gets larger, you can take a small pointed object such as a small drill bit and make a small hole in the tip of where the air cell is, always only work on the top of the egg where the air cell is but do not attempt this unless you are sure that this egg is of hatching age and I myself would not do this unless I knew I had a chic in distress and it is my only option, anyway as you make the small chip look down into the small hole and see what you see, if the chic is alive you may hear it at this point or see possible slight movement, do not go into the membrane what so ever, also have you thought about what you are going to do if the chic is hatched, how do you plan to care for it, odds are against this little one if you do attempt this and it is a huge commitment on your part for the next 28 days, normally it is best to allow nature to take it's course, where are the parents by the way?

2. Once you have determined the viability of the egg it is best to either dispose of the egg if it turns out it is no longer alive or if it is alive take a small piece of a postage stamp and cover the little hole up and let it be to hatch when it is supposed to, if you get into the inner membrane on the egg you are likely to kill the youngster if it is still alive as it will bleed to death very quickly, I have saved younsters from this but it is quite difficult, you really need a humidity controlled incubator setup that can provide the little one with what it needs for the first 10 days of life, this is really only something that should be attempted by an experienced person. Also you should not try to take the youngster from the shell as there is a yoke sack attached that is supposed to be used up prior to the youngster leaving the shell, if this yoke sack does not stay attached then you are again in real trouble with the youngster and it will likely not survive more then seconds if you do this.

Now with this all said, I would strongly advise against opening that egg, I am still confused at why you are needing to attempt this and where the parents are as a young pigeon really needs it's parents to supply them with pigeon milk the first few days of life in order to be able to sustain life with every possible chance of survival, the parents would have abandoned the egg probably about the 21st to 23rd day on the eggs. I think it would be ok to candle the egg but beyond that I don't think you should do anything else.

Ellen


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## battler (Sep 4, 2005)

so any ways I am waiting onto sunday to see if it will hatch, the baby is still inside alive and breathing I just don't understand stand why it takes so long for him to develope..


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## Skyeking (Jan 17, 2003)

I am just amazed at reading your thread, as I have never had an egg go past the due date.

Are you sure the baby is alive and moving around?.... anyway you got some good advice on this and I don't have anything to add, except be very careful.


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## relofts (Apr 8, 2004)

battler said:


> so any ways I am waiting onto sunday to see if it will hatch, the baby is still inside alive and breathing I just don't understand stand why it takes so long for him to develope..


Because it obviously is not a pigeon egg, it is a prehistorical dinosaur egg that is going to come out walking and talking don't you think, when it hatches just hand it a jar of baby food it will be way beyond our times so no worry it will already know how to care for it's self.

Ok now logically, sorry this is not a 32 day old egg, let alone a 34 or anything othere then someone is messing with you if you think you are seeing it developing and breathing, sorry if you see it moving chances are it may just be someone is just playing a egg swap on you, it just doesn't happen that way, you need to find out who is messing with you, as this is just not possible.

Ellen


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## Mistifire (May 27, 2004)

If you cant find a bright flashlight or a pen light you can cut a 1/4th to 1/2 inch round circle in some thick cardboard and hold the egg to the hole and hold it up to a bright house light bulb. 
It wont hurt it if you tough the egg, the problem comes from handling it alot each day because the oils from our fingers can clog the pores in the egg. 

Dont open it if you think it is still alive, there are so many things that can happen if it is not ready to hatch and the membrane is broken. 

The egg can move if the insides are going bad too, I have candled eggs that looked like something was moving inside but it ended up being the air from the air cell because the membrane had degraded enough to let the air through.

As it solidifies it will shift inside and the egg can move. If it is really decomposed inside it may explode.. just a warning.


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## battler (Sep 4, 2005)

here's a picture of the 35 day old in it's foster parents' (lucky and blackie's) nest, the egg is 17 days old, the egg should come out today.

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y102/B-b-o-y-4-l-y-f/latebloomer.jpg


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## battler (Sep 4, 2005)

I stopped counting the days at 35 since I cracked the egg at 35 to see if there was any embryo developing


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## Skyeking (Jan 17, 2003)

I'm confused..now  Is this the baby that was incubating for 35 days? ...


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## battler (Sep 4, 2005)

Trees Gray said:


> I'm confused..now  Is this the baby that was incubating for 35 days? ...


yea but I'm confused too, like how could it survive that many days in the egg and come out like this, it's a big mystery to me as well..


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## Lovebirds (Sep 6, 2002)

battler said:


> it's a big mystery to me as well..


There is no mystery here. Either you are WAY off on the dates or you are pulling our leg.............no baby pigeon is going to "live" in an egg shell for 16 days longer than it should. Heck, by 16 days they are up walking around, so get real...............this just ain't happening...........


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## Symbro (Oct 28, 2005)

so you cracked the egg open and the baby is alive and under your foster parents blackie or whatever?


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## battler (Sep 4, 2005)

yea I cracked the egg but it makes me really confused, I think you guys are right someone might be switching my eggs around.. I need to get a camera..


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## stach_n_flash (Mar 15, 2006)

you cracked open the egg and it lived? and if you cracked one why not the other ? just wondering the little guy looks good and it would have been sad if he didnt make


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## luisrolon (Jan 21, 2005)

wow 34 days is too much ....... they baby will die inside the egg, he needs to be fed by mom. Sometime my giant lahores take 21 days to hatch their babies but it's only when they do not stay on eggs all day.


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