Chick started chirping 33 hours ago but hasn’t externally pipped

[oakcliffchicks]

Yesterday was day 18 so I candled my eggs before putting them into lockdown. I could hear one of the chicks chirping from within (this was around 10am).

I quickly put them into lockdown and was excited because I figured that chick would be pipping very soon!

It has now been almost 34 hours and no external pip. I heard it chirping all day yesterday but nothing today.

A different egg has now externally pipped but I’m still concerned about this one and I’m not sure what I need to do.

Should I intervene or should I just leave it?

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I'd wait if it's only day 18.

 

[CaptainKarru]

Yesterday was day 18 so I candled my eggs before putting them into lockdown. I could hear one of the chicks chirping from within (this was around 10am).

I quickly put them into lockdown and was excited because I figured that chick would be pipping very soon!

It has now been almost 34 hours and no external pip. I heard it chirping all day yesterday but nothing today.

A different egg has now externally pipped but I’m still concerned about this one and I’m not sure what I need to do.

Should I intervene or should I just leave it?

how did everything go last week?? I read somewhere about "never intervening because it's not natural and can make a weak chick survive" but MY stance is that neither is incubating an egg!! So I'm totally not against it.

 

[oakcliffchicks]

how did everything go last week?? I read somewhere about "never intervening because it's not natural and can make a weak chick survive" but MY stance is that neither is incubating an egg!! So I'm totally not against it.

it didn’t hatch and I didn’t intervene :/

 

[CaptainKarru]

Ahhhh dang it.. I'm so sorry!

 

[Jrzebra]

I'm very sorry about your chick. That happened to me too. I'd read several times that you should never try to help a chick, but it was devastating to hear a chick crying, trying to get out of its shell & not being able to, & on that case, the chick died b/c I didn't know what to do. So I decided that next time it happened, I would try to help & i started reading what I could about it. That was about 6 years ago & since then I've helped 100's of chicks hatch! I discovered that you can poke a little hole on the fat side of the egg, in the air- cell area in order to monitor the chick's progress. In that part of the shell, the membrane is already pulled away & you can pretty much peel off the entire air-cell area, as long as you don't mess with the part of the membrane still attached to the shell. When you take off that part of the shell, the membrane should look white & wrinkly, & full of blood vessels. If you drop some warm water or oil on the membrane, it becomes translucent & you can usually easily see the chick thru the membrane. The moisture will also help keep the chick from drying out. If the chick is in the right place, you should either see where the chick has pipped internally, or see a pointy bump where it is about to. I've gotten to the point where I'll internally pip a chick if it hasn't already, then help it the rest of the way if needed. The biggest thing to watch out for at this point is the blood vessels: if you hit one & cause a bleed, the chick will almost always become stuck from the dried blood & you'll have to help it finish hatching. So always try not to break a vein. If it happens, use a paper towel & gentle pressure until it stops, then leave it for an hr or 2 & let the veins recede & dry up more. Often if pipped inside too long w/out moving, the membrane will start drying & stick to the chick's face or wing. To prevent this, I gently liftl the edges of the membrane off the chick & lay them over the outside edge of the shell. You can also put a bit of Vaseline under the membrane, using a q-tip. If the chick doesn't hatch w/in 5-6 more hrs, I'll continue to help, a little at a time. The biggest thing to look for b4 it comes completely out of the shell is to make sure the belly button is closed. If not, it could leak out yolk, or even it's intestines & die. Once the veins are mostly dry & belly is closed, the chick is ready to come out. Hope this helps some folks!
* I've also had several chicks hatch w/ out their belly closing all the way. In this case, a tiny drop of super glue can help. Drop it on belly button & hold the belly closed w/a q-tip until it stays.