Day 23 and FIRST PIP!

[rachelbs]

Help!!!! I have 8 eggs in an incubator and absolutely nothing has happened. I was going to discard the eggs today or potentially do a water test but I just woke up and one of the eggs has pipped!!! Since it’s day 23, does this mean this chick might need help? I don’t hear any sound or see any movement. Will the chick be weaker since it’s this late, or is there a risk the membrane has hardened? What do I best do here for day 23? Appreciate all advice!

 

[cavemanrich]

Haste makes waste,,,
Let nature hatch those chicks. (I know they are in incubator)
Often times, the temperature during incubation is slightly lower, resulting is slightly longer incubation time.
I am sure you are viewing the temp displayed, and all seems perfect. Reality is,,, these are not laboratory grade thermometers,, so slight difference are very common to actual values.

WISHING YOU BEST,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,and

 

[Ridgerunner]

HI, welcome to the forum! Glad you joined!

Did you count the days right? That is a common enough mistake I'll start there. An egg does not have a day's worth of development when you put it in the incubator. It takes 24 hours before you can say "one" when you start counting days. An easy way to check your counting is the day of the week they go into the incubator or under a broody hen is the day of the week the 21 days is up. If you put them in on a Friday then the 21 days is up in a Friday.

Then you have Cavemanrich's point. It is not unusual for eggs to hatch a full day or even two early or late, in an incubator or under a broody hen. Things like heredity, humidity, how and how long they were stored before incubation started, and just differences in eggs can make a difference. Oe common problem is that the average incubation temperature is either higher or lower than perfect. It took me three tries before I finally got my incubator temperature calibrated and set correctly.

Since at least one has pipped I'd suggest you sit on your hands and leave everything alone. If you try to do anything at this point you are more likely to do harm than good. It can take 24 hours or even more from pip to zip. I know, this late it is hard on your nerves but good luck! A pip is a good sign.