Day 24 float test should i help

[Tiana's chickens]

I've had eggs hatch on day 25 and 26 and they were perfectly normal, they just took longer to develop. If you make a hole in the egg before the chick is ready then it will possible die. I'd say just leave it, if it's strong enough to live then it's strong enough to hatch without help. Helping them too soon could kill a perfectly good chick

 

[WVduckchick]

Thank you, I have done a few before with my duck eggs useing a sharp stake knife and gently using a screwing type motion while I pushed ever so slightly to make a little hole but never a silkie egg.

Great. Duck eggs can be a bit tougher, so just be careful. I'm sure you'll do fine.

 

[WVduckchick]

I've had eggs hatch on day 25 and 26 and they were perfectly normal, they just took longer to develop. If you make a hole in the egg before the chick is ready then it will possible die. I'd say just leave it, if it's strong enough to live then it's strong enough to hatch without help. Helping them too soon could kill a perfectly good chick

The chick has internally pipped. She is only doing a safe hole because the air cell is a bit small. It will give the chick more air to breathe while it finishes its yolk absorption. She is not cutting the chick out.

 

[shelby hayden]

The chick has internally pipped. She is only doing a safe hole because the air cell is a bit small. It will give the chick more air to breathe while it finishes its yolk absorption. She is not cutting the chick out.

So I'm confused should i I don't want to hurt the baby.

 

[shelby hayden]

So I'm confused should i I don't want to hurt the baby.

It is day 21 for this baby and it pipped at 3 am this morning?...

 

[WVduckchick]

It is day 21 for this baby and it pipped at 3 am this morning?...

Totally up to you. If you feel comfortable waiting, then wait. It could very well pip the shell any time now.
I normally try to give about 24 hours from when i discover an internal pip, but a tiny safe hole isn't going to compromise anything after 16 hours being internally pipped.

Maybe wait until you are ready to go to bed. If it hasn't broken the shell by then, you can decide what to do?

 

[shelby hayden]

Totally up to you. If you feel comfortable waiting, then wait. It could very well pip the shell any time now.
I normally try to give about 24 hours from when i discover an internal pip, but a tiny safe hole isn't going to compromise anything after 16 hours being internally pipped.

Maybe wait until you are ready to go to bed. If it hasn't broken the shell by then, you can decide what to do?

Great advice I was thinking the same thing.

 

[Arya28]

I didn't read all of the posts on this thread- just saw you mentioned the float test. I just thought I'd add here, we did the float test for 10 eggs in our incubator who hadn't hatched by day 25. The float test said about 7 of them definitely should have been viable... we opened the eggs in a last desperate attempt to help. They were all dead- the float test did not work for us.

 

[Pyxis]

Totally up to you. If you feel comfortable waiting, then wait. It could very well pip the shell any time now.
I normally try to give about 24 hours from when i discover an internal pip, but a tiny safe hole isn't going to compromise anything after 16 hours being internally pipped.

Maybe wait until you are ready to go to bed. If it hasn't broken the shell by then, you can decide what to do?

This is great advice. Putting a safety hole in an egg that has already internally pipped will not kill it, so don't worry about that.

 

[shelby hayden]

I didn't read all of the posts on this thread- just saw you mentioned the float test. I just thought I'd add here, we did the float test for 10 eggs in our incubator who hadn't hatched by day 25. The float test said about 7 of them definitely should have been viable... we opened the eggs in a last desperate attempt to help. They were all dead- the float test did not work for us.

Thank you for your comment.