Air sac?!

I hope everything goes well for yours too!

The pipped hole has only gotten slightly bigger overnight ... It is now rocking and chirping but it keeps pecking at the already pipped hole. I'm trying my best not to assist but I'm so anxious that it is malpositioned. It's been this way for almost 4 hours now.

How can you tell that it's malpositioned? (I'm new to this stuff)

Hannnaahh said:

The pipped hole has only gotten slightly bigger overnight ... It is now rocking and chirping but it keeps pecking at the already pipped hole. I'm trying my best not to assist but I'm so anxious that it is malpositioned. It's been this way for almost 4 hours now.

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That is a perfectly fine and in the right place zip. Nice and high in the air cell. No maleposition. As long as teh membrane stays a nice white and papery and he is active when motivated he should be just fine. Stop worrying. As long as your humidity is up things should go smooth. Now, if you want to help motivate them. Play recordings (I use a youtube video of day old chicks chirping from my phone) of chicks chirping and watch how they react.

Pipe Dreaming said:

How can you tell that it's malpositioned? (I'm new to this stuff)

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A malepositioned chick will pip the middle/bottom of the egg. (Not in the air cell.) A chick that pips into the air cell is right on target and should be given 12-24 hours to start zipping.

Between pip and zip the chick and nature are doing a lot of work that we don't see. Absorbing any yolk that hasn't been absorbed as well as resting and a very important one- the veins are absorbing back into the membrane and drying. This takes time and doesn't start until the chick makes that pip and starts breathing air and strengthening it's lungs. A lot of assists happen too soon and end up bloody, because the chick is still "feeding" off these veins and pulling the membrane away with all the veining still intact can cause significant blood loss.

A malepositioned chick can take even longer to zip (and sometimes do need assistance) because they have skipped the step of pipping into the air cell (internal pip). After they internally pip, they often take 24 hours before externally pipping. In this 24 hours (give or take) they are resting, (it's hard work to get to this point) learning to use their lungs and absorbing yolk. When they pip outside of the air cell, they are skipping this step and going from shell to outside world. So it's not uncommon for them to take twice as long to "make up" for the skipped step. They are often also in a position that will not allow them to finish the job. Many malepositioned chicks hatch on their own just fine, and there are those that without help, wouldn't make it. You just have to watch them more closely.

Thanks for the info! I thought it looked positioned correctly, but I have no experience.

It has hatched!!

Hannnaahh said:

It has hatched!!

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Yay!!! Anymore pips?

Awesome!!

How did they turn out? I do lock down on day 18. I read the hatch 101 from the learning center tab seriously 100 times. It's hard not to help out! I also don't wanna help, then the chick bleeds to death because I'm impatient. I've now got 3 clutches under my belt and trying shipping eggs of chocolate orp bantams I'm starting tomorrow. Fingers crossed!!!