36 hours since pip on wrong end

[thousandhills7]

I have a chick that externally pipped at the wrong end at the end of day 19. It's been 36 hours. The original pip was probably 5mm in diameter and her beak was exposed. She's widened the hole to double the size as the original pip (I think...the other chicks have also been pecking at everything) but now we're at a standstill. I've never assisted a hatch but I'm reading all the articles just in case. Should I keep waiting? The membrane looks a bit dry. She's been very still for the last 10 hours. (Apologies for no photo....the other chicks are in the way and I'm trying to avoid opening the incubator unless truly necessary).

 

[MidwifeMamaHawk]

Can you make a safety hole
on the air sac side and start peeling away the shell there to check on the status of the membrane? If all the vessels are absorbed I would consider carefully intervening on the external pip side. It is possible she doesn’t have the right leverage to zip. If the vessels are not absorbed and you see movement you could moisten with membrane with coconut oil and put the chicky back to give her more time. My understanding is that as long as she is externally pipped she can breathe. And she can survive
several days on just the yolk. So there is no hurry to assist.

 

[thousandhills7]

Can you make a safety hole
on the air sac side and start peeling away the shell there to check on the status of the membrane? If all the vessels are absorbed I would consider carefully intervening on the external pip side. It is possible she doesn’t have the right leverage to zip. If the vessels are not absorbed and you see movement you could moisten with membrane with coconut oil and put the chicky back to give her more time. My understanding is that as long as she is externally pipped she can breathe. And she can survive
several days on just the yolk. So there is no hurry to assist.

Thank you. I pulled her and candled...the air sac was definitely at the opposite end. So I drilled a safety hole and gently chipped an opening at that end to see in. The yolk and blood vessels were very evident. So I coated that opening with coconut oil, as well as the membrane area around her pip. She was moving and chomping so that was encouraging. Back into the incubator for a bit more cooking!

 

[thousandhills7]

Just an update: this chick didn't make it. She never was able to move from the position she was in to fully zip. I checked on her after a few hours and she was dead. I'm sure there was something else going on beyond just the pip being malpositioned...but I'm not sure what.