Goose - 1 Hatched 8 more without external pipping

[rawsauce]

First time incubating Toulouse goose eggs here. I've read Pete's Goose Incubation & Hatching Guide, but still have questions. We're at day 31. 1 of 9 hatched last night. There's no signs of the other 8 having externally pipped. Before putting them in lockdown, the air sack looked good on all 9 eggs. They were put in lockdown at day 28. Should I perform external pipping for the remaining eggs? Will that shrinkwrap the goslings with the sudden dip in humidity? How can I tell if they've internally pipped? Any suggestions appreciated! Thanks!

 

[casportpony]

How are your eggs doing?

 

[Sierra G]

Sorry for the late answer, but I'm going to answer in case you still want an answer. You shouldn't externally pip the eggs unless you know they've pipped internally. The reason is you don't really know were the bird will pip. You know where it's supposed to, but they aren't always in the right position. I'd recommend just watching for an external pip unless you've candle and know the gosling's head is in the aircell. And when looking for the external pip, check the whole surface of the egg. Pipping sometimes is just a cracked bump. If it's in the wrong place you'll want to open it up a little to make sure air is getting in.

You don't need to worry about shrinkwrapping until the shell is broken by external pipping, so doing it yourself makes all the eggs vulnerable during a point in the process where you're probably going to want to be able to open the incubator to candle. Internal pipping is obvious in the right place because you can see the bill in the aircell when you candle. In the wrong place the internal pipping doesn't happen because the gosling either externally pips or is so badly positioned he can't pip at all. You might be able to externally pip for an out of position gosling by listening to tell where the bill is. But you're really just guessing. If it's late in the hatch you might not have anything to lose. But you should be aware that just because a bird starts to hatch doesn't mean it's ready to hatch. Hatching can take three days from pip to exit. Don't expect to "help" by peeling the embryo in a few minutes like you would a hard boiled egg.