Does Hen keep sitting on egg once the egg piped and i can see chick inside?

[dollychickens]

Hi everyone, I need some help and advise here. I am new to hatching eggs, and so does my hen. I don't have a rooster so I bought some hatching eggs to put under one of my broody hen. After a long wait of 20 days, here is what I see today when I came back from work. I see a little whole, and can see the chick is breathing through the little whole. I can not help myself, so I used my finger to break the egg shell a little bit wider for her( I am sorry if I have done wrong) . After the hen had something to eat and drink, she went back sit on her egg again.

Here is my question, would the chick still have enough oxygen & fresh air? when the mother still sits on them?

I am so excited and nervous, I hope this chick can survive.....hopefully my manually "bigger" whole wont hurt ..

 

[Yorkshire Coop]

Please try to leave the eggs alone. You can do more harm than good removing shell from the egg before the chick is ready to hatch. When they make an external pip the small crack in the shell that is more than adequate for the chick to get enough oxygen. Once the chick has made the pip it has a lot still to do. It will rest and it has the yolk sac to absorb and also the veins from the membrane to absorb too. By removing shell you could damage a vein which would cause your chick to bleed to death. Also by removing the shell too soon it can cause too much air in the egg which will dry the chick in the shell it will become stuck in the shell and will be unable to hatch. From initial pip to actual hatching can take 24 hours, patience really is a virtue when it comes to hatching eggs.
Hens have been hatching eggs for thousands of years they are not going to suffocate the eggs they have more than enough air under the hen. The hen needs to keep them warm and she creates humidity which keeps the egg moist to just the right level so the chicks can hatch.
I really can't stress this enough about letting nature take its cause and not to intervene with eggs when they are not ready.
Wishing you the very best of luck with your hatch

 

[Yorkshire Coop]

The brown egg at the front has a pip hole this egg was like this for nearly 12 hours before it started zip

This chick has just zipped round the egg at the top and poked its head out this one was more than 12 hours from pip to zip.