How long do they take to hatch once started ?

[Gagirly]

My first two eggs' hatch date was yesterday 11/11. Last night I could hear some chipping going on. This morning, both have small raised up cracked places on the egg shell. How long should it take them to come all the way out ? Should I worry at some point if they don't ?

 

[greatflake]

will take as long as they need, hatching off some right now had 13 of 36 so far today got several more pipped right now mine are raising all kinda ruckus right now in the brooder beside the bed hopefully they will calm down so i can sleep
let them do their thing, have seen some of mine pipped for 15+ hours before they came on out some took no time at all depends on what the chick wants to do, this is only my 2nd hatch happy hatching!

 

[TinyTotsSeramas]

walk away from the incubator and sit on your hands!

 

[lilchick]

If mine have pipped and hours later no progress I intervene. Chip away the egg shell on the large end of egg and look down inside to see where chicks beak is. I gently chip away shell down to them.

Free the chick from the membrane so it can free its head and upper body. If bleeding I wait awhile them try again. I am sure some will debate on this but my thinking is the chick has pipped and you may need to help it.

Nothing worse than a chick getting to day 21 and needing a bit of help and you not giving it. Good luck!

 

[cmom]

Some chicks take minutes to hatch and some take hours. Be patient.

 

[Gypsy07]

The thing about pipping and hatching and helping that people need to realise is this: Just because a chick has pipped, doesn't necessarily mean it's actally ready to hatch out yet. Chicks don't pip when they're ready to hatch, they pip when they're running out of oxygen inside the air cell and they're starting to suffocate. So they pip to reach fresh oxygen, but they may not be fully developed and ready to start hatching for a few hours, or maybe even a couple of days...

If you're too quick to 'help' out a healthy chick, you could do it a lot of damage. If your temps and humidity have been spot on, you shouldn't have to help out ANY healthy chick. If you know you've had some temp and/or humidity issues, you may have healthy chicks struggling to hatch through no fault of their own, and in that situation helping out might be necessary. But if you've not had any such issues and you've got a chick struggling to hatch, chances are there's something wrong with it and nature's not intending it to hatch.

I'm just saying all this to put across the idea that helping chicks out shouldn't be the norm like some people seem to think it is. When I started incubating, I helped out quite a few chicks. I know now that most of them would probably have managed to hatch by themselves if I'd (a) got my temps and humidity stable and (b) just left them alone. In the last two years, I haven't helped out a single chick, and every chick that has pipped in my bator has gone on to hatch unassisted.

 

[Gagirly]

There was no progress when I left for work this morning at 5. I could hear one making peeping noises through the shell and nothing from the other. The temp and humidity were good when I left, so maybe I'll have my first 2 chicks when I get home.

 

[Gagirly]

Leaving work now for home. Hope I'll have 2 chicks when I get there. Cross your fingers for me that everything's ok. I'm really nervous.

 

[GrannysRoost]

Hoping you have chicks or progress!

:yiipchicke

 

[Gagirly]

There's progress. One chick keeps sticking its little beak out the hole it made and the other eggs is rocking and rolling like Elvis.