help with pipping

[bluedawg]

One of my chicks is having a hard time pipping (I'm not sure if that is the right term) but it's been hours and this poor chicky is still working on it. It's tempting to help. I would only want to interfere if the chick were going to die. at what point can I make this call? This is probably a typical reaction from newby hatchers like myself.

 

[Akane]

How many others have hatched or is this the first pip? They can take days to finish hatching after pipping. If it's an early pip I'd definitely wait and not worry at all. Sometimes the first to pip is the last to hatch and once other chicks start to pip and hatch the noise and movement encourages the rest to get moving. If all the others have finished hatching I'd keep a close eye on that one and make sure it remains active. I wouldn't help until at least 12-24hrs after the others finish hatching. I don't go by how long one egg has been pipped because some take longer than others. If the egg is late though and the others hatched out a day ago it's more likely that one is having trouble.

 

[amysue2012]

Ive got my third batch starting to hatch now just a min ago i heard a chirp from the bator

Anyhow on my second hatch I did help a few after they had been working at it a few hours with very little success even though apparently your not suppose to. I just (helped) peel off a couple of loose pieces of shell...they ended up coming out the rest of the way on their own just fine. After they were all under the heat lamp a few hours later I couldnt even tell which ones I helped...they were all doing fine.

Not sure if this helps any but good luck!!! Hope you have a successful hatch

 

[Akane]

You got lucky. If you open to help you can end up killing all the chicks. Depends on your incubator and climate but the drop in humidity if it doesn't recover fast enough can dry out the membranes making it impossible for later hatching chicks to break the membrane and getting currently hatching chicks stuck to the membrane. Also often times they take awhile to pip because they haven't absorbed the yolk yet. If you pull them out of the shell the yolk could rupture or their blood vessels may not be absorbed and they will bleed to death. Finally if you start to help a chick hatch you may have to hatch it out completely yourself because you ruin the signals the chick gets. They are triggered to hatch by running out of air in the shell. If you peel bits off so they get plenty of air they are no longer triggered to try to hatch.

It's not worth the risk to jump in early.

 

[bluedawg]

well, what exactly is pipping? The first hatched abour 15 hours ago. There was a small hole in this ones shell 5 hours ago. it's still rocking the shell but making very little progress. in the meantime another has hatched completely.
-M

 

[bluedawg]

I can't keep my eyes open any more - going to bed. I'll see what progress is made by morning... no interference

 

[Akane]

A pip is the little hole in the shell. A zip is when they start to break a line across the shell to hatch from. Some will also call breaking the membrane pipping but they usually make it clear that it's the membrane they are talking about not the shell. Some eggs will pip and sit there for more than a day until your about ready to give up on them and suddenly zip and hatch in 5mins while you aren't watching.

 

[erin0415]

Your doing the right think waiting. Hope your chicky is waiting for you in the am.