[srtiels]

Have you candled the egg to see if there are viable veins, and movement? While candling, rotate the egg to see if there are any cracks, especially if the air cell is very large. The earliest an air cell will tilt is at 16 days and that is a result of a hot environment, and hatching would be on day 17.

So more info needed from your observations....

 

[srtiels]

Can you draw a pix, scan it and post it, or a good candled pix to show what you mean?

My first though is how is the humidity in the room. If humidity is low you might want to run a humidifier in the room until your eggs are hatched.

Many times cracks can be felt or seen. What I have done is used food color (dilute the color) on a tissue (it is non toxic) and swabbed the area below the lowest point of the tilt to see if there is a crack.

I know sudden enviromental temp changes can affect hatches....but this is more closer to hatching. Fort example, one day warm, then suddenly a cold front coming in. Several of us breeders nationwide observed that when this happened it explained some abnormal hatches. Thus outside environmental factors can disorientate a chick in the egg. I call it wandering chick because pip marks are erratic and the little one may punch out the side of the egg or out the bottom.

It is quite possible weather can be affecting this egg...only guessing.

 

[srtiels]

Ah....(duh, it didn't look at your location, VT) you will defintely need a humidifier running this time of year. It is from Dec-early spring, nationwide that DIS is the highest because of low humidity.

keep an eye on the size of the air cell. If it gets larger the easiest way to increase the humidity in the nestox is to lightly mist just the inside wall of the nestbox once a day til hatch. Avoid any spray on the bedding or eggs.

 

[srtiels]

OK....how I did all my candling pix was to turn off the flash on my camera. I went into a dark closet and layed the egg and the small candler or flashlight pressed against the air cell end. I shot the pix's from 18" away. When downloaded I cropped them so that just a little of the surrounding area was around the egg. If you are downloading to Windows photo Gallery you can try to adjust exposure to bring out more detail.

If you do a vid take one in a dark closet and another in a semi-darkened room to see which comes out best.

 

[srtiels]

Yes....the baby food jars in the corner of the box would be good, providing they don't spook the parents.

The tilt sure looks like an egg that in in preparation of the chick turning to get in the pip position.

As to camera I have found that a simple cheap Kodak Easy Share camera works as good, without the hassle of all the settings to take my pix's.

 

[srtiels]

Keep us posted You might have an early bird. What does the egg weigh?

 

[srtiels]

so this time round is proving to be too stressful for them.
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Just to be on the safe side you might want to give the parents some probiotics prior to hatch. Simple stress can generate some low grade yeast flare-ups, which you don't want to happen close to hatch because the parents will start to eat once they know the chick is ready to pip, and will hold a little reserve in the form of a fluid in their crop to feed the baby until it's yolk sac is fully absorbed inside their bodies.

 

[srtiels]

Just a random thought....what are you using for bedding?

I start counting day on right after the egg is laid. My guestimate hatch date is calculated for 18 days later. This give me a date to start watching eggs 2 days befor and after the target date.

 

[srtiels]

OK....the rolled oats might contribute to drier hatches because they can act like a wick and draw moisture.

 

[srtiels]

You might consider candling to make sure there is movement. What I also do is tap the side of the egg gently to wake up the chick....especially if it has a weak chirp.

 

[srtiels]

Sometimes you can have an exhausted weak chick from trying to pip out....so I learned to keeping listening for sounds, and if not tap the egg to wake the chick up because they can be weaken enough to go to sleep and not wake up again.

 

[srtiels]

If they will let you check tonight I would since the shell is past the first pipmarks. Mark the end of the last pip to see if there was more piping by morning. If not it could be an indication of a problem. But hopefully by the AM there'll be a little fuzzy in the box.

 

[srtiels]

It sounds like there will be a couple new fluffballs soon

 

[srtiels]

Congratulations on the little one LOL....details please....what color down and eyes?

The parents should be occasionally giving him fluids...just check his crop every little bit, because they digest so quick.

 

[srtiels]

Something for the future. Weigh the egg prior to hatch. The shell is only a fraction of the weight, the pre-hatch weight, thus the egg weight will also be the hatch weight. average hatch weighs are 5-6 grams.

 

[srtiels]

((((hugs)))

 

[srtiels]

And so bright yellow

The color of the down, especially is a bright yellow is a good indicator that the baby will have alot of lipochrome suffusing it's plumage....meaning that the facial feathers around the beak may be yellow, and a yellow diamond shape on the forehead, and depending on the mutation a yellow suffusion on the chest.

You can look at the pix's in this link to see when pigment comes in on the feet and nails: http://justcockatiels.weebly.com/watch-me-grow.html

 

[srtiels]

The other odd thing about this one is the fuzz/hair. It seems to be bald to almost halfway down its back and then some long fuzz strands.
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it sounds like it is premature in development. How well were the parents sitting? It is the down that rapidly grows out when the chick turns in the shell. Have you been having any erratic weather? I* have found that this can also affect hatches, especially if you erratic piping. which reminds me to get my butt in gear and finish all the egg-related collages done....such as this one showing normal and abnormal hatches and the shells are a clue of what to look for. Note I still have to add type to the pix....

 

[srtiels]

It does not matter if the inside temps are constant....it is atmospheric changes and fluctuations that can affect the hatch. I don't know if cockatiels have magnetic fields (lack of the correct term) but if so that might explain why the chicks have erratic pips and might trigger early piping and hatching....?????....just thinking aloud.

 

[srtiels]

yolk sac to absorb with air getting at it?

I'm glad you asked. The tissue must be kept moist (blot with a saline solution) If the surface dries it makes it makes it harder to be drawn into the body. Last resort you may have to tie off the yolk sac.

In addition there is risk of the exposed tissue absorbing bacteria. What helps is to cut an onion in half and place it near the baby. Onion will absorb any bacteria in the air.