...All good comments. I wait until the first egg is slit on its own. In the vast majority of cases the rest of the eggs will slit on their own within the next 48 hours or so. Once an egg has slit I enlarge the slit and make a V-shaped cut, using a suture scissors (available thru med supply stores). Cutting a few of the blood vessels has never been a problem.

Also once the first egg has slit I lower the temp to 86-87F to decrease oxygen demand on the babies.

If an egg hasn't slit on its own by about 60 hours after the first egg has slit, THEN I will make a SMALL hole (with the suture scissor) and press out a little of the egg fluid. It should be CLEAR AMBER colored. If it is even a little cloudy it usually means the embryo has died. If clear, I wait a few hours to see what happens, if nothing I press out a bit more fluid. After a few more hours then I slit the egg enough to nudge the embryo and see if it moves. It will if it is alive. If so I leave it alone to do the rest! Scott J. Michaels DVM

[ Show Entire Thread ]