Hatchling with twisted shell
 

Hi, I have had a good few months with hatchlings, however it am a bit sad today. I have four eggs from a first time layer, the eggs are quite small. Two have hatched today, and both have got a twisted shell. I have bathed them and popped them back into the incubator on some damp kitchen roll. Will they straighten out, if not will they be ok, and is there anything I can do for them x x hugs Stella

Can you post a picture?
Hatchlings generally straighten out over a few days:0)
This is when they have been scrunched up in two in the egg.
Is this what you mean?

Hi Sandy, is there a way of posting photos other than through photo bucket?
They do look like they have been scrunched up, hey are the shape of the egg!! Stella x x

Im sure they will be fine Stellanne! :) I bet they are either bigger than your other (straighter) hatchlings or were lying awkwardly so more scrunched up. I have one hatched this morning & all its weight appears to be on one side I have bathed & put back in incubator & by tomorrow she will be much straighter!

Yes that is just how these are, weighted on one side. The actual eggs in this clutch are much smaller than the rest, and they took ages to hatch, both kept toppling over to one side and I had to keep straightening them up. I will continue to check out how to do photos other than by photobucket x. Stella x x x

I use tinypic for posting photos here. I find it much easier than photobucket.

I also had a hatchling that was really badly scrunched up, I think it must have been laying at a diagonal in the shell and came out really weird. It looked more twisted the next day as it was obviously starting to straighten out but 24 hours later it was fine and it's shell looked absolutely normal

Thank you all, I am feeling a lot better now. How long should I leave them in the incubator. Stella x x

http://i61.tinypic.com/bgpeyo.jpg

I hope this has worked x Stella x

Funnily enough I was just looking at mine that hatched today and trying to decide just that. Usually I like to make sure all of the sac has gone and the little gap is closed. Bertha has just got a tiny slit left so I think I will leave her in the incubator overnight.
If you are concerned about their shells I think I would probably leave them in there until it has straightened. The humidity might help speed up the whole process. Having said that I am not and don't pretend to be an expert LOL

What is the shell like underneath ?