# Air cell in wrong place :/



## Fredandiris (Nov 27, 2012)

I just got home from vacation and when I candled one of Iris' eggs, it looks like the air cell is on the side of the egg. It's kind of like when the air cell tilts before a chick hatches but there's a lot more tilt haha. When I searched it up online it looks like it's a fairly common problem in chicken eggs.
However, all the solutions and advice they present are intended for people who are incubating artificially, which I am not doing. 

Will this egg need any special care, particularly around hatch time? Veins are looking great otherwise. Oh and I think she's been incubating for about a week now.

Got 5 fertile eggs and I'm really hoping for 5 healthy chicks


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## Tequilagirl (Mar 4, 2013)

I have absolutely no idea but I'm keeping my fingers crossed for the lil ones!


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## Darkel777 (Jun 7, 2013)

Yes, it may need to be assist hatched. The chick might try to pip at a location that is not the aircell and damage veins in the egg's exterior wall, this puts it at risk of blood clots as well. If it starts to pip at the wrong location, do not try to help him out where he is attempting to burrow out since that will make him bleed more. I would remove a piece of the actual aircell portion of the egg and dampen the membrane to figure out if it has drawn in the blood or not. If the veins are plump, wait for a while longer. Bear in mind, that there is a remote possibility that the chick will hatch out on its own without any help too.

The assist hatching article on international cockatiel resource and justcockatiels are very useful here. If you don't have an incubator consider getting or making a brooder at least, leaving the egg with the parents during this process isn't very feasible.


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## Fredandiris (Nov 27, 2012)

It looks like there are actually two eggs that have the air cell in the wrong place. I candled them again this morning and it seems there's another egg that has an enlarged and tilted air cell. Besides the size of the air sac it looks like it's in the position for hatching (so it's not as sideways as the 1st egg I mentioned). Unfortunately I don't know what order these eggs are going to hatch, just when the 1st and 2nd eggs were laid. I'll have to be extremely vigilant around hatch time. 

I've placed a very small cup of water inside the nestbox to try to increase humidity. I will also be spraying the sides of the nestbox with water everyday. *Is* that enough? 

*How* do I make this brooder? I have a brooder set up for chicks but it's in a 10 gallon aquarium, which I imagine is too big...?

I'm trying to stay calm and not worry too much but it's really hard knowing that there's a possibility that I might have to assist hatch.


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## Darkel777 (Jun 7, 2013)

Fredandiris said:


> It looks like there are actually two eggs that have the air cell in the wrong place. I candled them again this morning and it seems there's another egg that has an enlarged and tilted air cell. Besides the size of the air sac it looks like it's in the position for hatching (so it's not as sideways as the 1st egg I mentioned). Unfortunately I don't know what order these eggs are going to hatch, just when the 1st and 2nd eggs were laid. I'll have to be extremely vigilant around hatch time.
> 
> I've placed a very small cup of water inside the nestbox to try to increase humidity. I will also be spraying the sides of the nestbox with water everyday. *Is* that enough?
> 
> ...


You want humidity at around 50% that's the standard for eggs. Too much and the chick gets confused in pipping, smothered in the shell, or fails to draw in the yolk. Too little and the chick cannot draw in the blood as it dries to the egg membrane. If you live in a humid area you do not want to provide humidity in the nest, if you live in a very dry area you do.

If your brooder can reach at least 97 F or 37.5 C that will work regardless of the size. The easiest way to build a brooder is to take a small storage container, drill some holes on the side, wire a red light bulb to a water heater thermostat (if you're handy) or a reptile environment thermostat (if figuring that out is too much trouble).










Here are some topics where I have given instructions on making brooders/incubators.

http://talkcockatiels.com/showthread.php?t=89201&highlight=incubator

For a reptile thermostat you just plug the light bulb into the thermostat and place the probe inside the container to maintain temperature. That's the simplest way.

http://talkcockatiels.com/showthread.php?t=97218&highlight=incubator

This is a more advanced incubator, you don't need the fans though they will make it a lot easier to keep a constant temp. This explains the wiring scheme pretty well, for more ideas the backyard chickens website is a good resource.

If your current brooder can hold 97 F temp, none of that is necessary.


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## Fredandiris (Nov 27, 2012)

So when hatching time comes around, if the egg has a pip, I would wait 24 hours before starting to worry... What if I don't know when the baby has pipped, should I still wait 24 hours, or should I candle it and see if the veins are getting smaller and less red?

Say the baby has not gotten out 24-36 hours after the initial pip, would I then take the egg out and place it into the brooder, or would I take the egg out immediately when I notice that it has pipped?

Should I place the egg with the air cell up if assist hatching, or should I leave as is?

I'm not a very handy person so I have no idea how those sorts of things work haha. Is a heating pad okay? I have 2 of the small reptotherm ones or whatever.

Sorry for all the questions, I'm trying to prepare myself as much as I can if this situation comes around :/ Gaahh so many possibilities to think about


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## Darkel777 (Jun 7, 2013)

Fredandiris said:


> So when hatching time comes around, if the egg has a pip, I would wait 24 hours before starting to worry... What if I don't know when the baby has pipped, should I still wait 24 hours, or should I candle it and see if the veins are getting smaller and less red?


Listen for the chick to vocalize, that means hatching has begun. The aircell should grow and shadows will appear in the egg showing movement. The first external pip occurs sometimes 48 hours before hatching as a external crack on the surface.



Fredandiris said:


> Say the baby has not gotten out 24-36 hours after the initial pip, would I then take the egg out and place it into the brooder, or would I take the egg out immediately when I notice that it has pipped?


I would wait, if the chick has not gotten out then assist hatch. Making sure it has time to draw in the blood and yolk is very important.



Fredandiris said:


> Should I place the egg with the air cell up if assist hatching, or should I leave as is?


Position of the aircell shouldn't matter when assist hatching. But I would try to prop the chick up so that its head is at the highest point in the egg if observation of the head is possible. This way, any fluids inside or introduced to the egg don't aspirate the chick.



Fredandiris said:


> I'm not a very handy person so I have no idea how those sorts of things work haha. Is a heating pad okay? I have 2 of the small reptotherm ones or whatever.


A heating pad should work as long as you have a way to control the temp.



Fredandiris said:


> Sorry for all the questions, I'm trying to prepare myself as much as I can if this situation comes around :/ Gaahh so many possibilities to think about


It's no problem!


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## Fredandiris (Nov 27, 2012)

I was reading the assisted hatching article that srtiels wrote and she says to open the egg very carefully. But, she doesn't mention how to do that...I know when it comes time I could probably find a way to do it but I'd like to know now if there's a safe, effective, and accurate way to open up the egg.

How do I open the egg up?

Also, with the air cell on the side like that, would the chick be positioned normally, with its head where one side of the air cell is normally? Or would the chick be positioned with its head by where the air cell is now? I would imagine that the chick would drown otherwise 

Thank you for all your help, I really appreciate it!!


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## Darkel777 (Jun 7, 2013)

Fredandiris said:


> I was reading the assisted hatching article that srtiels wrote and she says to open the egg very carefully. But, she doesn't mention how to do that...I know when it comes time I could probably find a way to do it but I'd like to know now if there's a safe, effective, and accurate way to open up the egg.


From the aircell side, I usually just candle to see where it is and chip off a piece with the end of a flathead screwdriver or butterknife. Use something pointy to make the first mark, then slowly chip away the rest of the aircell. Don't remove all the egg until you're sure the yolk and blood are absorbed.



Fredandiris said:


> Also, with the air cell on the side like that, would the chick be positioned normally, with its head where one side of the air cell is normally? Or would the chick be positioned with its head by where the air cell is now? I would imagine that the chick would drown otherwise


The chick could be positioned any number of ways. Just be sure when you do open it up that its in hatching position with the wing above the right eye. This is one time where too much humidity could kill the chick just because it makes the problem of having an unusual aircell even worse. Then not only is the aircell unusual but very small as well.


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## Fredandiris (Nov 27, 2012)

Okay thank you so much for your help! I don't have any more questions right now but would you mind if I pm'd you if I do later?


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## Darkel777 (Jun 7, 2013)

That's fine


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