Day 19, egg pipping!! But.. Wrong end

[alli590]

Ok it's day 19 in one hour, and when I went to add water to the bator, one chick started pipping. At first I was overjoyed! Then I reliesed it was on the wrong side of the egg!! Another issue is, I won't be home all day in case it's in the wrong position and it needs help. I do not want this little guy dieing!! I've helped a chick hatch before a couple years ago, so I would know what to do. But should I help it or not?

 

[gimmie birdies]

it is best to leave it. most eggs pip the inner membrane, wait a day then pip the outer membrane then hatch 24 hrs later,we are talking 2 extra days here. the chick has 2 days of yolk to absorb in its egg still, breathing the air for at least a day will help it absorb the yolk and as long as it can breathe it will be fine. good luck.

 

[gimmie birdies]

chicks struggling in the egg is upsetting to watch, think of the turtle crawling to sea, you may be tempted to help, but if you do the turtle will not be strong enough to swim in the sea. the crawling helps build muscle. when a chick struggles in the egg, they are building strong leg muscles.

 

[AmyLynn2374]

I gave my malepositioned chick 18 hours to make progress, when no progress was made, I increased the hole to get an idea of positioning. In many cases malepositioned chicks make it out all on their own, in my case my little gals position was so bad she would not have been able to get out as she couldn't turn to zip or push at the shell because her leg was over her head and her foot was rested on the beak (coming from over her head.) Literally her beak and toes were sticking out the pip hole. I increased the hole a bit and then returned her to the bator to see if she could make progress, when after a couple more hours she could not I started the zip line. (I did this a couple times each time giving her chance to make progress herself. Once she was able to get her foot back down and in position to push, she finished the job by herself and is a healthy almost 4 month old pullet now.

So I'd give her 18-24 before deciding anything, and then it would be to widen the pip and check her position. If she was in a good position I'd put her back in and give her more time. If she looked like her positioning was way off I would start to help, but give her time between helping to make her own progress. If you see a significant amount of blood, stop. If you see unabsorbed yolk, stop. Hopefully she'll make it out on her own though. Good luck.