Budgie Egg (pipping?)

[birbs]

My budgie has laid her eggs and they are fertilized. They are almost done with incubation and may be ready to hatch. The problem is I don’t know which one is going to hatch and one of them have a crack. I candled it and it seems like it is moving around in there. I don’t see any blood vessel but I’m sure it’s alive. Half of the egg is dark. The other eggs have blood vessel and not yet ready to hatch. They are cracked but i covered them in tape. If you look closely in the picture, you can see the crack.
The question is I am not sure if it’s pipping and will be hatching tomorrow or if it’s a crack. If it is, I may need to cover it so bacteria won’t go in. No leakage and membrane has not been broken.

 

[Sparkles99]

I'm not sure what route to take or whether or not to tape.

@PoukieBear @BrianB

 

[Tazlima]

I'm unclear from your description whether the crack has been there a long time and covered with tape all this time, or if it's new.

Disclaimer - my hatching experience is based on coturnix quail, so there may be differences between species of which I'm unaware.

If the crack is new, I wouldn't cover it. Hatching is an exhausting process for a baby bird, so typically what happens is they pip, and then they stop to rest. In quail, this rest period can last up to 24 hours. While they're resting, the pip lets in a tiny amount of air, which helps oxygenate the baby for the last big push to hatch. Covering the pip could interfere with that process AND, if the tape wasn't removed at exactly the right moment, could strengthen the shell enough that the baby would be unable to emerge when it's ready.

If it's a crack and not a pip, my concern would be less bacteria and more issues with humidity. I've seen chicks that were slow to hatch, and sometimes the membrane can dry out and get tough and difficult for them to break through. The good news, though, is that the parents roosting on the eggs should maintain optimal humidity as well as warmth, making this much less of an issue than if the eggs were in an incubator.

My instinct would be to leave it alone. But again, I've only ever hatched quail, so if someone with more relevant experience comes along, I'd defer to them.

 

[BrianB]

I’m not sure I would use tape. It may prevent the chick from being able to get out. The old paper, flour and water should be enough to hold it together well enough and still be easy enough for the chick to get out. A breeder I know used that for cockatoo eggs that cracked.

 

[birbs]

Update: it hatched! Mommy is sitting on it. Do I need to feed it? Or will the parent will take care of it?

 

[birbs]

Is it normal for the mom to sit on the chick?

 

[Zara]

Mommy is sitting on it. Do I need to feed it? Or will the parent will take care of it?

Is it normal for the mom to sit on the chick?

Sounds like you have done zero research?
The hen will brood the chicks, ¨sit¨ on top of them and pull her wings around them to keep them warm. Even as they grow she will keep them warm.
I am not sure how budgies do it, but my lovebird hen would go and bathe and come back half wet to add to the humidity inside the nest box and control that too.

The chick will absorb all of the yolk sac before being fed by it´s mother. She will know when, hopefully. It´s a good idea to monitor without being a pest. So don´t hang around the cage or constantly look in the box, but check in ever few hours or so so that you are aware of what is going on and to be sure the chick is being fed properly.

Did you buy all of the things I said in your prev. thread?
¨-Hand rearing formula
-Feeding utensil - I use syringes but always recommend feeding spoons to a novice
-Candy thermometer to check formula temperature
-brooder
-heating pad if your brooder is not a professional one
-Aspen shavings - Course pine is ok if you can´t get aspen. Never fine pine, and never ever cedar.
-Thermometer (digital) for monitoring brooder temperature
-Hygrometer for monitoring humidity inside the brooder
-Weighing scales - you can use a gram scale, or as your birds are budgies, a 0.01 scale
-Pedialyte, or natural unflavoured coconut water
-Papaya
-Nursery cage with plenty of perches (to move the birds into after they fledge) ¨

Is this chick that hatched the one that had tape on the egg? Are there more to hatch?

 

[birbs]

Sounds like you have done zero research?
The hen will brood the chicks, ¨sit¨ on top of them and pull her wings around them to keep them warm. Even as they grow she will keep them warm.
I am not sure how budgies do it, but my lovebird hen would go and bathe and come back half wet to add to the humidity inside the nest box and control that too.

The chick will absorb all of the yolk sac before being fed by it´s mother. She will know when, hopefully. It´s a good idea to monitor without being a pest. So don´t hang around the cage or constantly look in the box, but check in ever few hours or so so that you are aware of what is going on and to be sure the chick is being fed properly.

Did you buy all of the things I said in your prev. thread?
¨-Hand rearing formula
-Feeding utensil - I use syringes but always recommend feeding spoons to a novice
-Candy thermometer to check formula temperature
-brooder
-heating pad if your brooder is not a professional one
-Aspen shavings - Course pine is ok if you can´t get aspen. Never fine pine, and never ever cedar.
-Thermometer (digital) for monitoring brooder temperature
-Hygrometer for monitoring humidity inside the brooder
-Weighing scales - you can use a gram scale, or as your birds are budgies, a 0.01 scale
-Pedialyte, or natural unflavoured coconut water
-Papaya
-Nursery cage with plenty of perches (to move the birds into after they fledge) ¨

Is this chick that hatched the one that had tape on the egg? Are there more to hatch?

Yes, I have bought all of the following above. I only checked every few hours to make sure everything is right. Thanks for telling me! I did try to do research on budgies but it was hard for me to find some information. The chick that hatched is not the one with tape on it because I decided that it will probably hatch. The other eggs had tape on them because they cracked before. I am planning to remove them today.

 

[Sparkles99]

Don't remove the other eggs right away. I'd wait for someone with breeding experience to weigh in. Eggs don't all hatch at the same time.

 

[birbs]

Don't remove the other eggs right away. I'd wait for someone with breeding experience to weigh in. Eggs don't all hatch at the same time.

oh no that's not what I mean! I meant the tape XD