It's almost been 24 hours from the first pip, and the chick isn't out.

[jenfork]

Do I just leave it alone? Or does the chick need a little help? The hole is slightly bigger from when I went to bed. But not as much as I hoped.

 

[Highlander]

Just leave it, sometimes it takes longer.

 

[dsqard]

From reading other threads it can take over 24 hours from when they pip to starting to zip. Do not open the incubator since you run the risk of a sudden drop in humidity causing shrink wrapping. Just sit on your hands and wait.

ETA - if you go to this thread it has a lot of good information on incubating and hatching. Hope this helps! https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=261876

 

[jerseygirl1]

Quote:
Yes - my limited experience says the same thing - even though I have tried to help them at that stage - they usually do not live too long afterwards..............

 

[mitch324]

Don't open the bator. I have had them take almost three days from pip to zip. It's hard not helping but they will do better if you keep it shut..

 

[dolly85]

It took mine nearly two days to hatch after the first pip, so give them some more time!!!!! I had my first pip early morning on day 19 and it was the last to hatch late on day 20. They all hatched wtihin a 48 hour period.

 

[MamaChic21]

yesterday around 2pm, our mother hen's egg hatched and we had our first baby chic but, now it's been almost 20 hours and nothing ? The mother won't move, the chic is getting all excited and all over his mama But still, mother hen won't get up from her eggs to even eat. So I put food and water close to her, she ate some but didn't drink any water. Should I be worried ?

 

[theredroosta]

Quote:
Don't hijack threads.

The mother is on the eggs because they are eggs. When they become chicks she will leave to eat and feed her young and her self. The chicks don't need to eat for the first 48 hours.

 

[bakerjw]

You've got to watch the humidity. I had the eggs of some hatching chicks dry out that were hatching under a broody hen and they will get shrink wrapped in the shell. There are steps you can take at that point but it is best to leave them alone and keep the humidity at the correct level.

 

[debilorrah]

Quote:
Don't hijack threads.

The mother is on the eggs because they are eggs. When they become chicks she will leave to eat and feed her young and her self. The chicks don't need to eat for the first 48 hours.

You better get used to that - it happens all the time and the person was worried - no big deal.

To the OP - can you see inside the egg that has been pipped for so long? Has any progress been made since the initial pip?