Hi guys, I know the rules, don't help out a hatching chick, but... He has clearly pipped, but he just keeps pounding away and then making very distressed sounds. I've seen many videos of hatchings and it just doesn't look like it can zip, he's also pipped on the bigger end of the egg. There is a clear hole to breathe. It's been about 18 hours. Any advice?!?
Chicks will "squeal" now and then after they learn to breathe, but before they hatch. It's not distress, it's just having fun with their lungs. There is no real purpose to the squeal. When they are ready to zip, they are "chatty". It's like they're talking to the egg shell while they are hatching out. It definitely isn't a squeal at all. It's just a chatty kind of peep. If he keeps pounding the side of the shell, breaking away pieces on either side, then sit back and wait. He SHOULD soon realize that he has to turn, and he'll do that to get out of the egg. But if he sits there for a couple of hours or so, and keeps STRIKING the shell enough to make chips of it fly, but not actually turning to make another strike, then slowly crack the shell and pull away the outer membrane working INTO THE AIR CELL. Don't do it on the side where his body is, always break into the air cell. And don't touch the membrane that actually covers him inside the air cell. Only take away the part attached to the shell. Take away enough that you can see the inner membrane covering him, and look for blood vessels. It'll look very much like the veins rippling across the muscles of a body-builder. The inner membrane WILL look like its wrapped tightly around the chick, but that does NOT mean it's shrink-wrapped. When they make the internal pip, the membrane no longer has pressure on it, so it just kinda collapses against the chick's body. As funny as it sounds, that's what also happens to your fingers when they are in water too long. There is no longer liquid on one side and air on the other creating pressure for each other. So your fingers "shrivel" from the lack of pressure. Same happens with the chick's inner membrane. But as long as it still slides across his body, he's fine! IF and ONLY IF all of the blood vessels are completely gone from the membrane covering the chick, THEN you can slowly help pull his shell off. Stop if you see actual bleeding, and let him sit for about an hour to see if he does the rest himself. If not, and the bleeding has stopped, and you see no signs of blood vessels again, then you can try again. You only need to go about halfway or so, and then let him actually push himself out of the egg.
