Chick problems

I have eggs in the incubator they were supposed to hatch on Sunday, but yesterday one started to chirp, I can't tell if it's piped yet should I flip the egg over to see?

No. More to follow

That 21 day thing is just a guideline, more of a target. There are many reasons eggs can hatch a couple of days early or late. It’s not unusual either way.

After internal pip but before external pip, a chick often starts chirping, especially if it hears noises. That way a broody hen knows she has a chick on the way and does not leave the nest.

Before an egg hatches the chick has to do certain things. It has to internal pip and learn to breathe air instead of live in a liquid world. It has to absorb the yolk, dry up external blood vessels and absorb that blood, do something with that gunk it’s been living in so it dries fluffy instead of all matted up, and who knows what else. Some chicks do some of this stuff before even internal pip, these chicks often zip fairly soon after external pip. Some do a lot of this stuff after external pip. These chicks can take forever to zip. Some of these things have to be done in a certain sequence, internal pip, learn to breathe air, then external pip when the air in the air cell starts to run out. The other stuff can be kind of jumbled.

It’s normal for the chick inside to chirp before external pip. Keep your hands out of the incubator and let the chick hatch. I know you are worried about it and that each egg is pretty precious right now, but the best thing to do is to leave the eggs alone.

Good luck!

Thank you for the advice, but I had already flipped the egg over and it had externally piped. I have closed the incubator and temp and humidity stayed constant.