help me with my hatching chicken....to help or not?

[kleinerchic]

I've watched abd read a lot of your support and I still question my own eggs....my egg pipped at 426pm 23 hours ago....she's is still chirping lightly inside the egg...haven't noticed a decrease ....but she's not made any real progress in zipping...i can't tell whether the membrane looks dry or not.?? any ideas or opinions ?

 

[JaeG]

If the membrane looks yellow or brown it's drying out. You can put coconut/olive oil, or vaseline on it to stop it drying out. It's the hardest decision as to when to step in and help. If you start helping you'll have to keep helping. You can take them to a point where they can push out of the egg once you've opened it up enough but as soon as you start removing shell it means the chick can't rotate and unzip (though they maybe can't anyway which is why they haven't progressed).

I'd wait until it has been pipped for at least 24 hours then you can chip off a bit of shell only to expose the membrane. Wetting it or putting on a bit of oil will allow you to see if there are any live veins still in the membrane. You cannot proceed until the veins are no longer full of blood.

Do you think the chick has pipped into the air cell or straight out? When they pip straight out they will add on the time they would've been internally pipped to the time they would've sat at the externally pipped stage so they can take 48 hours to start unzipping.

It's a real judgement call and as you can see it's a complicated business. for your little chick.

 

[Rooster G]

If you are a day past hatch day then I would go in, but if it is hatch day I wait. If it is hatch day late and the hole is bigger but no zip progress I help.

 

[kleinerchic]

thank you all...unfortunately I went in too early I guess...she was able to get through once I helped a bit... but then the umbilical was still attached and when she tried to get up it was bleeding...then i was so mad at myself for bothering . ...

 

[Xlcandylx]

thank you all...unfortunately I went in too early I guess...she was able to get through once I helped a bit... but then the umbilical was still attached and when she tried to get up it was bleeding...then i was so mad at myself for bothering . ...

My baby chicks still have there cord when they hatch out. Some bleed for a little then stop. What you need to watch out for is when it doesn't stop bleeding. They usually dry up and it just detaches..... Well that's what my chat has been doing.

 

[Rooster G]

We have all learned the same way.

 

[JaeG]

When the chick doesn't rotate as it unzips, such as when you step in and help, the umbilical cord will still be attached as the chick hasn't twisted to break it. You can just snip it with some scissors so that the attached shell doesn't catch on anything and pull, making it bleed.