How long should I give the chick to hatch after piping?

[cocopop]

It is now going on day 22 and the little chick started piping late on day 19. There has been progress since but not much. The hole he opened up is only a 1/4 of an inch. It doesn't seem like he is trying hard enough. Should I help him out or let him keep trying until he gives up?

 

[RileyCalanchini]

Never help a chick out! Its best just to have patience. Every chick is different too. The chick is probably super tired and is resting. He will realize that he or she has to come out some time. The only time is if its an emergency. If he is still in there on day 25, I would probably try to help. He or she may more likely have a deformity if it takes that long. Hope this helped.

 

[Fred's Hens]

It can take two days. I agree on not helping chicks out. But, if you must, there are specific steps to follow or you can bleed out a chick and cause death. Let nature take its course. It often takes a day or two after a pip, for a chick to break their way out.

 

[cocopop]

Is there a time limit on when too hatch with a pipe because I am worried about the chick being shrink wrapped or if the egg lining will be too rubbery to break through? I am not sure if the chick gets stronger or weaker the longer he stays in the egg with a hole. You are right, I will try to hold back and let mother nature take its course but it is hard when any type of baby needs help. What can cause a chick not to be able to finish zipping after piping?

 

[RileyCalanchini]

The chick could still be trying to soak up the yolk too. I don't think the chick will get shrink rapped. Try not to open the incubator for long periods of time because that could let all the humidity out and then really shrink rap the chick.

 

[Fred's Hens]

Tomorrow will be day 23, and sure, you can gently open the pip hole, making it larger.

In the Learning Center, the big brown tab above, you'll find articles, and then more articles on incubating and hatching. There's even some on how to properly "help" a chick out. Read and study this operation before heading into surgery. LOL


The reason experienced people, especially breeders like myself, do not "help" chicks is because we are breeding for the strong of the strong, the fittest of fit. We sell hatching eggs and blue ribbon breeding stock to people and people need to get healthy, vibrant, vigorous birds. We do not want to pass on lack of vigor or sooner or later, the birds will not be able to reproduce themselves and like begets like. Weakness to hatch usually means a bird that is weak, unthrifty and a poor layer, and these kind tend to be runts and never measure up the rest of their lives.

Like everything there is always that exception here or there, but overwhelming weakness beget weakness. We want them to pop out of their shells and be lively and healthy.

 

[Farmer Viola]

It is now going on day 22 and the little chick started piping late on day 19. There has been progress since but not much. The hole he opened up is only a 1/4 of an inch. It doesn't seem like he is trying hard enough. Should I help him out or let him keep trying until he gives up?

If the chick has been stuck for 3 full days without progress, it is possible she is actually stuck/glued and unable to zip the shell. If this is the case, she will eventually expire without your intervention. I suspect the membrane has become dried hardened and stuck onto the chick, since the shell has been open for 3 days...

Personally I am of the mindset that I will intervene when absolutely necessary. I have already interfered with nature insofar as to incubate them artificially (in artificial conditions, in an artificial turner), at this point I really owe it to them to see them through what I did to them. If I let a hen brood the egg, it probably wouldn't get a dried out stuck membrane. It's kind of my fault for creating the situation, as I see it. Anyway...

Please read this article if you choose to intervene: https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/9316/intervention-helping-your-chicks-hatch
it is a personal decision no one can make for you.

 

[austinm]

We've hatched eggs a number of times and in all cases we've helped some struggling chicks to get out of the shell, with no adverse results. I also understand the rule of not helping mother nature we do it on a regular basics in all areas of life. My grandson and me still get excited every time we talk about filling the incubator for a hatching event it never gets old its just amazing to watch as the process unfolds.

 

[cocopop]

If the chick has been stuck for 3 full days without progress, it is possible she is actually stuck/glued and unable to zip the shell. If this is the case, she will eventually expire without your intervention. I suspect the membrane has become dried hardened and stuck onto the chick, since the shell has been open for 3 days...

Personally I am of the mindset that I will intervene when absolutely necessary. I have already interfered with nature insofar as to incubate them artificially (in artificial conditions, in an artificial turner), at this point I really owe it to them to see them through what I did to them. If I let a hen brood the egg, it probably wouldn't get a dried out stuck membrane. It's kind of my fault for creating the situation, as I see it. Anyway...

Please read this article if you choose to intervene: https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/9316/intervention-helping-your-chicks-hatch
it is a personal decision no one can make for you.

Well I could not deny the little chick a chance at life and what if it wasn't because it was weak. Well I slowly chipped away at cracked egg shell and went around the piping pattern where the chick started and the inner membrane seem dry so I slowly separated the egg shell. I found some dried up egg yolk at the bottom of the egg and some on his butt. I found a dried blood spot at the top of the shell where his or her down feathers on his head was stuck. Hence he can't pip if the head is stuck to the egg. Well his toes on his left foot is bending inwards. I hope that will eventually fix itself. The chick can walk but with toes on one foot bent towards his other foot. Hope he will turn out normal

 

[Farmer Viola]

Well I could not deny the little chick a chance at life and what if it wasn't because it was weak. Well I slowly chipped away at cracked egg shell and went around the piping pattern where the chick started and the inner membrane seem dry so I slowly separated the egg shell. I found some dried up egg yolk at the bottom of the egg and some on his butt. I found a dried blood spot at the top of the shell where his or her down feathers on his head was stuck. Hence he can't pip if the head is stuck to the egg. Well his toes on his left foot is bending inwards. I hope that will eventually fix itself. The chick can walk but with toes on one foot bent towards his other foot. Hope he will turn out normal

Good job!

You may need to put a little bit of neosporin on her navel/belly button if it looks like a bump (suspecting because there was a little yolk left) to keep it clean and free of infection.

On the curled toes - I have fixed some bad feet before. but you will have to be diligent and make a cast for the foot every day for about 3 days or until it looks better. I fixed 1 foot that was so bad.... the chick was shipped. it was walking on the ankle like a peg leg with the foot twisted/broken, upside down underneath the peg leg. the ankle joint was swollen huge from being walked on and the middle toe was broken.

I set it in a cast (need a helper/2nd pair of hands for this) using electrical tape and light cardboard. you can also use band-aids but they stick to the skin worse than electrical tape. if you use band-aids, use baby-oil to take off the sticky when you remove it and go verryy slow. use hand sanitizer to remove the baby oil before re-casting the foot. I use tweezers to adjust the toes to be straight when I stick them down.

here is a picture of the foot I made for that guy
I WISH I took a before photo. his foot healed PERFECTLY I was so proud
he wore sandals for 4 days.




here is the link about chick sandals, Poultry Podiatry:

https://sites.google.com/a/larsencreek.com/chicken-orthopedics/leg-braces