Assisting chick to hatch

I thought I would post some pictures on how I assist chicks to hatch when they can't get out. If I hear them peeping and is getting late in day to hatch I will kindle the egg and if I see bill in air sac I will take hammer and crack egg open then peel it where I see no chick is in egg to get him where he can breathe. I will then start the help out process.
Rule of thumb when assisting is if you start to help you eventually will have to help all the way. Places of membrame will dry on the chick and he most likely won't get out alone after you have peeled on eggshell.



This egg was at end of time to hatch out and the baby could not get egg pepped. I pepped it for him then let him set in incubator about 7 hours and he is peeping wanting out so I feel rushing little bit but it seems to be in distress so i am going to take it out.



In picture above you can see veins in membrame. You have to be sure not let egg shell lacerate them or accidently break them cause chick can bleed. I put blow dryer on low and have 100w bulb in lamp above me so I can see and helps keep baby warm. The blow dryer dries membrame and make veins shrink.






The goal is to peel every bit of eggshell off of membrame without breaking any veins. Eggshells on membrame poke holes and make your chick bleed.





with this successfully done you pull membrame down on chicken taking out his head careful to not make it bleed much and put his legs on outside of membrame and not let him kick it off before you safely tie it off with white thread so he doesn't bleed.



I blow dry some here and take paper towel or napkin to get moist white away from cords then I either put him on side or run thread under him using real long piece so i can have enough to work with and tied a knot around cords. I usually do that 2 times for safety. and take scissors and cut them away. The more you can dry membrame the more blood and strength your chick will have.

I'm glad that this has been successful for you... but I'm thinking that you may be rushing them a bit.
Pipping and hatching takes a while some times and shouldn't be rushed.
How do you decide that they "need" help?

After 21 days and everyone pretty much out of eggs. I start to kindle eggs looking for bills in end of air sac. The babies will be peeping. I don't crack very many eggs after hatch and find dead babies now.
This chick would not have made it out. The egg shell was very hard and he could not pip it. A mother hen helps her babies out and can hear them if they cannot get out. I am not sure why some babies don't get on out on their own but this does work and you have viable baby chick that is just like others.
Sometimes you hatch a chick maybe should not have made it, deformed leg, bill, or cannot walk right. They would not have gotten out by themselves and would have died so sometimes have to cull them because you are saving chick that should not have made it.

Kimberly, did this chick come from some of the eggs I sent you?

Last year I saw one of our broodys reach under her and start smacking an egg .I could hear the baby in that egg crying a little bit she was picking bits of shell off the baby and looked like she was eating the shell..I went and got a chair and sat and watched her for about 2 hours..the other chicks had hatched and were still little wet from hatching. when I checked she still had one intact egg, that was the one she started pecking at..she would stand up and talk to the baby still in the shell with her head real close to the egg, and it would talk back to her.the other 2 babies were just getting thier legs under them a little and newly drying off.I removed the egg shells .I do not know what they know that we dont but she did wind up with three babies in tow around the yard all summer. I noticed the hens seem to stimulate the new babies a lot that might be a little weaker than the others, they make lots of noise like a vibration to them inbetween little sleeping . When I removed parts of that shell I noticed that shell was very thick also.

Thi is the hen, Ive shown this pic a few times but she is such a good mother and troubleshooter I can go to work and to sleep at night and not worry..she is the one who was pecking at that one egg, at first I thought she was going to kill it and hard not to get involved..but shes so good at this that I just sat back and watched. She is seen here with a couple of delaware chicks for a freind of mine..they wanted to hatch and I didnt feel like running the incubator for a couple of eggs..luckily she was on duty.. So I have seen hens help a chick out a few times over the years but that was the first time Ive ever had the chance to sit and watch the whole thing.

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That is too cute!!

Here is the baby tonight. I took him out of egg when I posted pics and this is how strong he is tonight

Yes this came from your eggs.

Here is my hatch so far. I have quite a few eggs going to hatch and I will post pics of babies as they hatch

I have about 30 chicks hatched so far and I have helped several. Tomorrow another incubator starts to hatch and 3 sitting hens