Help! Chick pipped in the wrong spot on day 18

[Chickspa]

I put my eggs in lockdown yesterday at 11am (day 18, I counted a day 0), and went back at 5pm to add more water in the chambers because the humidity wasn't high enough. After I opened the incubator and added the water, I noticed that one of the eggs had pipped externally near the middle/narrow part of the egg. ARGH!!! I quickly shut everything up and then taped a q-tip onto a chopstick and poked it through an air hole to wet the exposed membrane. I saw it's little beak moving. I continued to wet the membrane every few hours, and each time I do, I see the beak moving. I'm guessing this bird is nowhere near ready to hatch and still has to soak up the yolk, but...

Should I assist? And if so, how long should I wait? At 5pm today it will be 24 hours since I noticed the pip. Currently 8am...

Thanks for any help you can give!

 

[SmiYa0126]

@Kiki @Overo Mare help!

My instinct would be to wait at least 24 hours before assisting, maybe you're incubator was warmer so the chick was ready sooner? Is it a chicken egg?

 

[Obsessed With Silkies]

I put my eggs in lockdown yesterday at 11am (day 18, I counted a day 0), and went back at 5pm to add more water in the chambers because the humidity wasn't high enough. After I opened the incubator and added the water, I noticed that one of the eggs had pipped externally near the middle/narrow part of the egg. ARGH!!! I quickly shut everything up and then taped a q-tip onto a chopstick and poked it through an air hole to wet the exposed membrane. I saw it's little beak moving. I continued to wet the membrane every few hours, and each time I do, I see the beak moving. I'm guessing this bird is nowhere near ready to hatch and still has to soak up the yolk, but...

Should I assist? And if so, how long should I wait? At 5pm today it will be 24 hours since I noticed the pip. Currently 8am...

Thanks for any help you can give!

If it seems to be doing okay and making progress then I'd wait until 24 hrs as mentioned before stepping in. Just monitor it and if you feel like you need to assist after little or no movement after a while then that might be a good idea. Just remember, it's always better for them to get out of their shell themselves instead of us helping them out no matter how much we may want to. It's always better in the long run if a chick can hatch on its own.

 

[Chickspa]

Yes, it's a chicken egg hatched from our flock of Ameraucana mixes. Thanks for the advice!

 

[New duck mommy 2021]

Most wrong end babies that make the external pip themselves will be able to hatch with no help
But remember the time they are usually in the air cell gets added to the wrong end pip
They still need the sand amount of time to absorb the yolk they just skipped a step to get air

 

[Painted Calls]

@MGG

 

[MGG]

I put my eggs in lockdown yesterday at 11am (day 18, I counted a day 0), and went back at 5pm to add more water in the chambers because the humidity wasn't high enough. After I opened the incubator and added the water, I noticed that one of the eggs had pipped externally near the middle/narrow part of the egg. ARGH!!! I quickly shut everything up and then taped a q-tip onto a chopstick and poked it through an air hole to wet the exposed membrane. I saw it's little beak moving. I continued to wet the membrane every few hours, and each time I do, I see the beak moving. I'm guessing this bird is nowhere near ready to hatch and still has to soak up the yolk, but...

Should I assist? And if so, how long should I wait? At 5pm today it will be 24 hours since I noticed the pip. Currently 8am...

Thanks for any help you can give!

Was your thermometer calibrated? Day 18 is pretty early, I'm assuming your temp was too high throughout incubation.

If he pipped the pointy end, he didn't internally pip. So you need to give him a full 48 hours at least. 24 hours from internal pip and 24 hours from regular pip, though they happened at the same time. Pointy end babies usually hatch fine on their own. All pointy end pippers I've ever assisted have died so I would try really hard not to assist at all. I don't know what your humidity is at, but I'd have it at at least 75% to keep him moist. Wetting the membrane over and over with a q-tip actually saturates the membrane and makes it became very hard and dry out faster. I would not dampen the membrane like that any more. Just keep the humidity high. I would be willing to bet he'll be completely fine on his own.

 

[Kiki]

I put my eggs in lockdown yesterday at 11am (day 18, I counted a day 0), and went back at 5pm to add more water in the chambers because the humidity wasn't high enough. After I opened the incubator and added the water, I noticed that one of the eggs had pipped externally near the middle/narrow part of the egg. ARGH!!! I quickly shut everything up and then taped a q-tip onto a chopstick and poked it through an air hole to wet the exposed membrane. I saw it's little beak moving. I continued to wet the membrane every few hours, and each time I do, I see the beak moving. I'm guessing this bird is nowhere near ready to hatch and still has to soak up the yolk, but...

Should I assist? And if so, how long should I wait? At 5pm today it will be 24 hours since I noticed the pip. Currently 8am...

Thanks for any help you can give!

No. I'd NOT assist. When the air cells draw down they can draw down to the midpoint of the egg.
Can you take a picture of this egg and where the pip is?

 

[EggSighted4Life]

I quickly shut everything up and then taped a q-tip onto a chopstick and poked it through an air hole to wet the exposed membrane. I saw it's little beak moving.

I'd stop that before you drown it, and consider it lucky to have not happened already.. But highly agree with those who said WAIT.

(day 18, I counted a day 0),

Does that mean technically day 19?

 

[Obsessed With Silkies]

I keep my humidity levels at 40-45% the whole way through and I have great hatch rates. Just a future heads up.