Chick chirping but no external pip, can it cause suffocation??

[IndianRunners02]

It is day 20 for my chickens and one has internally pipped at the very end of day 19, it is the only one I believe to have pipped and has been chirping for about 3-4 hours, there is no sign of a crack or external pip and I heard if they don't externally pip or make a hole in a few hours they suffocate is this true or not? if so should I make just a very small hole in the shell?

 

[sumi]

Wait a bit longer. If it hasn't progressed to external pip 12 hours after you first noticed it pipped internally you can make a small "breathing" hole in the shell. If it shows signs of being in trouble or fading before then you go ahead and step in though. Candle the egg and mark the air cell line and make sure the hole is well above the air cell line and if you can see the chick's beak when you candle, you can make the hole somewhere in that area. Do not touch the inner membrane or the area below the air cell line though.

 

[IndianRunners02]

Ok thanks a lot, I really want to leave it to mother nature and hope for the best but when I read that they can suffocate if not externally pipped in a few hours I panicked a bit because all our other hatches seemed to go from internal pip to hatch within an hour :] thanks again

 

[sumi]

Sometimes they hatch very quickly, other times they need a bit more time. I've seen late hatchers hatch it what seemed like mere minutes and I've had chicks take 30 hours to complete the hatch. And just about everything in-between! As long as the chick is chirping in there it's fine. Don't worry

 

[IndianRunners02]

All is good, he externally pipped 13 hours after I first noticed the internal pip! he is now zipping and almost out!! he is making good progress with the zipping, I checked him before dinner and he had just a hole about centimetre long and and came back half an hour later to find he has half the shell chipped! :] hopefully he has some friends soon as 3 other eggs have also internally pipped! Thanks alot

 

[sumi]

Great! Thanks for the update!

 

[IndianRunners02]

another chick has hatched 10 hours after the first one, there are 3 more externally pipped ones now but we have an egg from another breed of chicken and the shell is very tough, this chicken has been there now for about 14 hours, there is no sign of a crack but you can hear him chirping and see the egg rocking, he has been trying for a long time, i tried to put a tiny hole where his beak is but the shell is to tough, what do you recommend i use to make a small hole??

 

[sumi]

Take something strong and sharp, like a small drill bit or a thick needle and score and X over and over and over until you've weakened the spot enough that you can get through the shell, then break it open with tweezers. But just remove a small piece of shell and the membrane directly under the shell, so you can see into the egg. Don't touch the inner membrane (covering the chick).

 

[IndianRunners02]

wow this egg doesn't want to be broken! the needle is having a very hard time getting through it :/

 

[sumi]

Just keep at it, or use something a bit sharper? Just be careful you don't poke it through the shell!