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Help please!! Quail egg pipped 24 hours ago, not zipping!

KenjiQuacker

Songster
Jan 24, 2021
349
782
131
Issaquah Washington
My quail egg that i'm hatching just pipped yesterday around this time and i thought by the morning it would've at least zipped. Nope. The hole IS bigger though, so I'm not sure whether it needs help or not :confused: .
Im thinking about waiting another couple hours just to see if it starts zipping. Is this a good idea, or should I start helping? If not how long should I wait to intervene?

My incubator is at 37.8 degrees celsius, 55-62% humidity, and has ventilation holes in the top. Anything wrong with the incubator?

Here's a picture.
FB78153F-D518-416F-9E3D-A1F2EEE01FC0.jpeg
 
Last edited:
A few questions to bump the post up so that the experts will notice it;
1) Have you calibrated your hygrometer? (i.e are you certain that it is 55-62%, or could it be lower?)
2) Can you see the chick inside? If so, is it making "eating motions" (i.e not done absorbing the yolk and blood)?

I might be tricked by the picture, but is the pip a bit towards the midle of the egg?
 
If this is your first egg to pip, in my experience, it may take more than 24 hours for it to start to zip. If the hole keeps getting bigger, but it's not zipping, then it probably needs help. If you decide to help, be prepared to cull it, because again, in my experience about 75% of the chicks I help have problems and need to be culled or don't thrive.

I would leave it alone for another 12 hours unless it is pecking at the hole and making it larger, but not zipping.

If you decide to assist, read this article, if you haven't already.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/guide-to-assisted-hatching-for-all-poultry.72886/
 
A few questions to bump the post up so that the experts will notice it;
1) Have you calibrated your hygrometer? (i.e are you certain that it is 55-62%, or could it be lower?)
2) Can you see the chick inside? If so, is it making "eating motions" (i.e not done absorbing the yolk and blood)?

I might be tricked by the picture, but is the pip a bit towards the midle of the egg?
Im not sure how to calibrate my hygrometer...
Also yes it is making eating motions, i didn't realize that meant it wasn't done absorbing the yolk and blood so thank you!
Here's a better picture of where the pip is.

AFE4F7C0-8ED1-4751-BC38-A402FFDDB80B.jpeg
 
If this is your first egg to pip, in my experience, it may take more than 24 hours for it to start to zip. If the hole keeps getting bigger, but it's not zipping, then it probably needs help. If you decide to help, be prepared to cull it, because again, in my experience about 75% of the chicks I help have problems and need to be culled or don't thrive.

I would leave it alone for another 12 hours unless it is pecking at the hole and making it larger, but not zipping.

If you decide to assist, read this article, if you haven't already.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/guide-to-assisted-hatching-for-all-poultry.72886/
Ok thank you, the pip is still getting bigger but I can't tell if it's starting to crack towards the side or not yet. I just got a picture, it looks like it might be cracking to the right now. Does that mean it's zipping?
8C79CC31-74ED-4A5F-9381-2AC97D2CC63E.jpeg
 
Ok thank you, the pip is still getting bigger but I can't tell if it's starting to crack towards the side or not yet. I just got a picture, it looks like it might be cracking to the right now. Does that mean it's zipping?
View attachment 2538066
That looks like it's starting to zip. If it hasn't made any progress in a couple more hours, that's when you make the decision on whether or not to assist. Some people don't ever assist, preferring to let nature take its course, some choose to.

As I said before, if you do choose to assist, there is a good chance that there were reasons the chick was having problems hatching.
 
That looks like it's starting to zip. If it hasn't made any progress in a couple more hours, that's when you make the decision on whether or not to assist. Some people don't ever assist, preferring to let nature take its course, some choose to.

As I said before, if you do choose to assist, there is a good chance that there were reasons the chick was having problems hatching.
Oh yay! Thanks for responding :D . I'll post again if I think i'm going to help it. It's looking pretty strong right now, so I think I'll just leave it be for a few more hours and check on it later.
 

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