24+ Hour Pipped Egg & Dry Membrane, HELP!

[BugBittenAnkles]

Hello All,

I'm a new (and accidental) chick mama and am freaking out. Yesterday, after having our young hen successfully hatch 10 eggs, we found another three left. One was a a successful hatch, but now I'm stuck with one chick who I'm afraid may be stuck in their shell. My mother is adamant about manually helping the chick out but I wanted to wait the 24 hours. Apparently, he had pipped at 6pm yesterday (the 9th of June) and now it's getting closer to the 30 hour mark, and I just checked on him and his exposed membrane looked bone dry

I feel that it's partially my fault because in the morning I helped (I don't know if that should be in quote marks, unfortunately) chip away some shell that seemed to have separated from the membrane and promptly gave him back to mama hen who tucked him under (I do not have a incubator at all).

Here are some photos post-dampening. He was on a warm cloth while I inspected him. He was stirring a bit, moving his little beak around the open hole and peeping away, but not making any move to start zipping, nor have I seen any progress of it.

We're experiencing a heatwave at the moment and it's about 80º in my room right now, but I have no idea what the humidity level is. I just know that the shallow bowl of water I'm putting with the other chicks & their mama in a box seems to evaporate noticeably over time (I'm refilling it, of course) but again, have no actual idea what the humidity is in the air, let alone under the mama's bum.

What should I do? I'm PETRIFIED of cracking the chick too early (maybe he's a late bloomer??) and the potential of killing him, but I'm already afraid I had interfered with his hatching process and, again, I have family members arguing that it's better to try and fail then to let the chick die in his shell >.<

 

[ChickNanny13]

If you got some coconut oil/vaseline rub it on the membrane to keep it moist. Where/how are you keeping the egg?
Where are you located, gauging weather/humidity conditions?
Is it still peeping?
How much did you peel back?

Do you have a heating pad? If you have a heating pad, make like nest for the egg with a small bowl of water in the center, drape the heating pad (on low) over it but not touching nor smothering the egg, needs to breath.

Do you have a heat source? Put some uncooked rice in a sock, stick it in the microwave for a few seconds, until it's warm. Get a shoebox, line it with a towel, put a bowl of warm water in the center, the sock on one end the egg on the other, put a towel over the box.

 

[ChickyPants]

If you wait too long he will come out with curled feed and possibly a crooked neck/body. Get him out now.

When this happens to me I bring down a little bowl of water warm water and paper towels and small scissors or tweezers. Wet the egg with the wet paper towel (making sure not to drown him) and moisten the exposed shell and lining. Start pulling away the shell. Be careful- his feathers or skin could be dried to the shell. Take away some shell and keep checking and moistening. Keep going til he is out.

If any of him is stuck to the shell and dried out, moisten it and gently work it away.

Don't wait. If its been more than 30 hours, he is stuck.

 

[ChickNanny13]

How's your chick? Think I saw you had another post, will check there.

 

[JohnEugene]

I had a successful hatched today 7/12/18 which needed much assistance. It had piped but the humidity was way too low, and the membrane around the pip had hardened. I carefully cracked the shell away from the hardened membrane around the pip. The remaining membrane was moist and pliable. I removed the rest of the soft membrane. The chick was alive and kicking but the hardened membrane around the head and wing area was preventing the chick from straightening out its head. Realizing that the chick would die without further intervention I moistened the hardened membrane with warm water and returned the chick to the incubator after having added water to increase the humidity. In approximately 10 to 15 minutes the chick had straightened out its head and was moving about awkwardly in the incubator. The hardened membrane had softened enough that I now easily removed it along with the remaining pieces of shell still stuck to the head and neck area. It has now been hours since this happened, and the little chick is walking around like a champ, head, neck and wings look perfect. In my opinion it is Better to help than to just let it die.

 

[BugBittenAnkles]

Hey all, thank you all so much for your help and advice! I did make another thread in the emergency board (new human-mama hen was a very scared mama) and I did end up helping the chick out, and although I was still worried, it's been two days and they seem to be happy and healthy!

Here's a pic of the work that I did (warm towel, dampened the membrane as I chipped away the cap with some old tweezers) and the beautiful little chick that popped it's way out

Thank you all again SO MUCH!!

 

[BugBittenAnkles]

I had a successful hatched today 7/12/18 which needed much assistance. It had piped but the humidity was way too low, and the membrane around the pip had hardened. I carefully cracked the shell away from the hardened membrane around the pip. The remaining membrane was moist and pliable. I removed the rest of the soft membrane. The chick was alive and kicking but the hardened membrane around the head and wing area was preventing the chick from straightening out its head. Realizing that the chick would die without further intervention I moistened the hardened membrane with warm water and returned the chick to the incubator after having added water to increase the humidity. In approximately 10 to 15 minutes the chick had straightened out its head and was moving about awkwardly in the incubator. The hardened membrane had softened enough that I now easily removed it along with the remaining pieces of shell still stuck to the head and neck area. It has now been hours since this happened, and the little chick is walking around like a champ, head, neck and wings look perfect. In my opinion it is Better to help than to just let it die.

I had the exact experience!! I was terrified of hurting and blood veins but realized I saw none, and was surprised to see that the membrane I uncovered seem to be moist, but I assumed it was because I was dampening the dry parts around the pipped area that had been exposed. I'm thinking now that it was really only that area that my chicky was stuck around. I saw absolutely NO red. There were parts of the membrane that were dark orange and I feared that it was dried blood that had stuck to it, but it didn't really have a form and could've just been super dry blotches of membrane (which were, again, right around the pipped area). I saw more damp feather through the membrane than any sort of vein, so I lightly stretched it to look under, and when I was confident that none was attached to the chick, I gently pulled it back and *wiggle, wiggle, crack, crack, POP!* the chick came out cleanly on it's own!

I think, for my first time, this was the BEST experience I could have had

Edit: some typos

 

[ChickNanny13]

To you both BugBittenAnkles & JohnEugene

 

[Michellep224]

Congrats!!

 

[AfiafiAfi]

Hello All,

I'm a new (and accidental) chick mama and am freaking out. Yesterday, after having our young hen successfully hatch 10 eggs, we found another three left. One was a a successful hatch, but now I'm stuck with one chick who I'm afraid may be stuck in their shell. My mother is adamant about manually helping the chick out but I wanted to wait the 24 hours. Apparently, he had pipped at 6pm yesterday (the 9th of June) and now it's getting closer to the 30 hour mark, and I just checked on him and his exposed membrane looked bone dry

I feel that it's partially my fault because in the morning I helped (I don't know if that should be in quote marks, unfortunately) chip away some shell that seemed to have separated from the membrane and promptly gave him back to mama hen who tucked him under (I do not have a incubator at all).

Here are some photos post-dampening. He was on a warm cloth while I inspected him. He was stirring a bit, moving his little beak around the open hole and peeping away, but not making any move to start zipping, nor have I seen any progress of it.

We're experiencing a heatwave at the moment and it's about 80º in my room right now, but I have no idea what the humidity level is. I just know that the shallow bowl of water I'm putting with the other chicks & their mama in a box seems to evaporate noticeably over time (I'm refilling it, of course) but again, have no actual idea what the humidity is in the air, let alone under the mama's bum.

What should I do? I'm PETRIFIED of cracking the chick too early (maybe he's a late bloomer??) and the potential of killing him, but I'm already afraid I had interfered with his hatching process and, again, I have family members arguing that it's better to try and fail then to let the chick die in his shelli hope ur eggs are ok by now but pls help my chick is Shelles still stuck inside his mebrane he’s not moving I can see some very blurry blood vessels and some blood I’m keeping it wet will he die?!!