Help!!! Should I assist this chick?

[KN650605]

I am on day 25 and only one of 11 eggs have hatched. One egg started pipping 2 days ago but instead of zipping there is just a big hole. The outside membrane is completely dry, hard, and brown. I tried putting Vaseline on it, upping the humidity, and chipping just a few pieces of the outer shell that were already falling off, but I feel like the chick is stuck inside. I can hear her peeping and see her beak sticking out of the hole every so often. Below is a picture. What should I do? I’ve never assisted a hatch before!

 

[EagleSkyFarms]

I've never hatched eggs so I can't help you, sorry. But I hop it ends up alright, and good luck

 

[JadeFarms]

Try to see if you see gains.

 

[b2c2chicks]

This isn’t the best advice but I just grab the egg and run to the trash can. I will take my fingernail and slowly chip away. Usually if they’ve pipped and got stuck mid unzipping or just make a big hole, and it’s been at least 18 hours, I assume all blood is absorbed and go for it. I don’t do anything special like wet paper towels unless I see blood. I try to not knick the outer membrane and leave it until the last minute, after all shell is gone.

But to be honest, I regret assisting 50% of the time. There is usually something wrong with them if they can’t unzip. Sometimes it’s simple as in they dilly dallied too long unzipping and too much air got in and dried them to the shell.....and sometimes it’s something bad like crossbeak. Sometimes they’re slow absorbing the few final blood vessels. Sometimes they just got too big for the shell and can’t turn efficiently. If you’re talking about chicken eggs and it’s day 25, I would be very cautious and prepare for the worst. Either temp or humidity could’ve been off and they grew too large to turn.

 

[JadeFarms]

Is it still alive? Post pictures.

 

[KN650605]

This chick is a fighter! Still alive and moving but I am afraid that it’s stuck to the shell. The membrane was rock hard when I tried picking it.

 

[JadeFarms]

This chick is a fighter! Still alive and moving but I am afraid that it’s stuck to the shell. The membrane was rock hard when I tried picking it.

Did you get the shell off?

 

[CapricornFarm]

If it has been pipped for 2 days it needs help getting out now. I pull away pieces of shell and membrane until I am about halfway rid of the shell. If the chick is stuck to the membrane, I put it in warm water in the sink and slowly peel off the membrane. If the chick is goopy, I wash it in a little bit of hand soap and warm water. Then I put it back in the incubator after I give it a drink.

 

[BGcoop]

I’ve only incubated once, but I had one that got stuck to the membrane and I assisted it out by pulling all the hard shell off and very carefully used a scissors to cut the membrane in a way that the chick could move normally-it was stuck to it’s back. (S)he earned the name Turtle because the membrane was stuck good for 2 days or so...until the chick fell into the water dish. Thankfully my daughter found her/him and we were able to pop it back into a different running incubator to rewarm. Turtle is doing well so far (about 8 weeks old now). I did however attempt to help a few others that were not progressing and 3 of them ended up being really bad- they didn’t have the strength or coordination to walk even after a few days so we had to put them down. That was extremely hard to do. And that I think is the biggest problem with helping...it can go great and you end up with a perfect chick, or it can go horrible and then you get left with the task of having to cull. If I were you I’d think hard on what you are prepared to do in the case it doesn’t go well and weigh that with how confident you are that the chick is normal.

 

[Purple_grape84]

But to be honest, I regret assisting 50% of the time. There is usually something wrong with them if they can’t unzip. Sometimes it’s simple as in they dilly dallied too long unzipping and too much air got in and dried them to the shell.....and sometimes it’s something bad like crossbeak. Sometimes they’re slow absorbing the few final blood vessels. Sometimes they just got too big for the shell and can’t turn efficiently. If you’re talking about chicken eggs and it’s day 25, I would be very cautious and prepare for the worst. Either temp or humidity could’ve been off and they grew too large to turn.

I would assist, but as @b2c2chicks has said a happy outcome is not guaranteed. I just can't live with the what if questions if I don't try.

The chick is definitely stuck if the membrane is hard and ot had been pipped for 2 days.
Start chipping the shell around the hole and slowly peel off the membrane, watching for any bleeding.
I usually stop at the half way point once the chick is free to move and just has to kick out of the shell.
The chick will probably be goopy. When the chick is up and walking around , but still wet, I'll give a quick rinse in warm water and put back in the incubator to dry off.
Hope this helps . The is a great article on here about assisted hatching, do a search in the articles. Found it. https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/guide-to-assisted-hatching-for-all-poultry.72886/