How long after internal pipping??

[LongRanch]

I had three eggs hatch yesterday morning (and one that pipped and died shortly after). There are 12 more in the incubator, and some had internally pipped yesterday morning.. but still have not pipped externally. I can hear them peeping and pecking still, and the eggs move around. I know you're not really supposed to help, but I read online that after 12 hrs you should out a hole in the air cell end of the egg for them so they don't die of exhaustion, so I thought I'd try. The eggs are REALLY hard -- seriously, little taps would not do. By the time I finally was able to break two of the eggs, these were not "little" holes. So, these two have been in a partially broken egg since lastnight, and the membrane is still intact and bled a little on one of them so I can't help them further, but they seem happy to hang out, still peeping and occasionally trying to stretch as if they want out. So now I am reluctant to help the remaining eggs, since the membrane was still intact in one of the other ones... But how long do I wait? It is 24 hrs since some of them started internally pipping. Temp is between 99.7-100 degrees and humidity is 74-77%. Thanks in advance.This is our first successful hatch and the three chicks that have hatched are doing really well.

 

[LongRanch]

Someone said maybe they shrink wrapped when I opened the lid to get the chicks out. How would I know??? I can't tell if they are peeping anymore because the new chicks are making noise. The two new chicks are still curled up in their shells with just their heads exposed.

 

[AmyLynn2374]

I highly recommend against making an artificial pip before 24 hours after the internal pip. It can take 24 hours or more for the chicks to go from internal to external and another 24 hours or more to go from external pip to zipping. Zipping however shouldn't take long. More than an hour and I recommend helping. Adding an artificial pip can actually slow their progress of hatching down rather than speed it up. If you have a large area of exposed membrane the membrane can dry out if it is not tended to whether or not you open the bator. The more exposed membrane the larger the chance of drying out. I use neosporin on exposed membranes if there is a significant amount showing. I open my bator frequently during hatching with no ill effects.

 

[LongRanch]

Just an update -- all the ones that internally pipped made it! They're doing great. Sadly, 5 others that had not internally pipped (but were alive and kicking at lockdown) all died for reasons unknown.