I am getting impatient..should I help? Can't stand it much longer....

[zowieyellowflame]

I discovered an egg pipped this morning, about 7 hrs ago. In the morning my husband and I said fine, we will help after supper. Now supper is getting close and he made only a tiny bit of progress. Seems like such a great effort for him, so simple for me to just chip away a little...... Just lend a hand to a hand (wing) in need..... I have read the posts about helping too early, yoke absorbing, blood vessels, but he is in there, alive. I don't think I could just let him die and say it is natures way. Do chicks get to this stage and die? Or he has oxygen and is ok?

 

[roche477]

It can take 48 hours or more sometimes after pip for a chick to get out. I never help unless it has been more than 24 hours and the chick doesn't seem to be progressing.

 

[waibel zoo]

I agree, wait at least 24 hours from pip. I have helped before and they never made it. I know it is possible. As long as the shell is pipped they are getting oxygen. Make sure your humidity is 60-65%.

 

[NanaKat]

Wait a little longer. Be patient.

Baby chicks have very little blood and a few drops lost can cause death.
If you pick off some of the shell, blood is still coursing thru the membrane in the shell and you can rupture those fragile veins.
Your baby will be okay as long as his beak is exposed to air and humidity.
Everytime you open the bator to check, you are creating changes in the humidity.

 

[zowieyellowflame]

Oh, this is under a broody. Ok, I will keep waiting. Humidity is great today, been raining all day!

 

[KittyKelly]

Oh I have the same problem! I always want to help them out of their shells! I've only helped a couple....the one I helped only had a little hole and didn't progress all day. So I chipped a little bit more away and then left him to finish the rest. He came out fine!
The second time I helped a baby call duck come out cause all his bros and sis's were already out and running around with mom. Plus I've heard that call ducks sometimes have a hard time because their beaks are so small! He was SO CUTE!

 

[dancingbear]

Quote:
If you interfere with an egg hatching under a broody, you'll almost always do more harm than good. Leave them alone. Moving mom around to "peek", can cause a baby to get smooshed, when it would have been fine otherwise.

Occasionally you'll lose one anyway. But more are lost by "trying to help" than by leaving them alone.

 

[Mahonri]

Patience.

 

[lux_interior]

I think it depends on the situation..... I had a chick in my bator pip yesterday morning, then it zipped all the way around, and then stopped. I went to bed last night honestly thinking that this chick had died in it's shell. I woke up last night at 3 am to use the bathroom, and I checked the bator again, and this same chick was now chirping it's head off, but it was stuck. The membrane had dried too much and I could see that the chick was stuck to the shell, I knew it was time to intervene.

I took the chick out, and helped remove it's shell and membrane. When I put the chick back, it stayed in one spot barely moving for about 8 hours. I then finally today around 11 got up and started trying to walk. It's now in a brooder with the only other chick that hatched so far and they are both doing great.

I know you aren't supposed to help, and it should only ever be a last resort... but sometimes, i do believe they need help.

 

[dancingbear]

In the 'bator they're much more likely to dry out too much, and get stuck. Her's is under a hen, they rarely get that dry under a hen. With the hen's belly feather's gone, against her warm, damp, skin, they're usually just right. I've had some get stuck in the 'bator, and had to break the dried strands of membrane between the top and bottom, so they could get out. But I usually stop at breaking the strands, and drip in a little water if it needs it to get unstuck. I let the chick do the rest.