Malpositioned chick.

[tess36]

Hello. This is my first time incubating and hatching eggs. The eggs are from my own chickens. I had 6/7 fertile. Two BCM and four blue eggs (could be my Isbars, Legbars, or blue laying mixes). Obviously, the four blue were easy to candle and gauge development. The BCM, not so much. I was not hopeful for them at all due to what I thought were very small air cells compared to the blue eggs. Bottom line all four blue eggs and one marans egg hatched early this am. There was a piece of shell missing in the middle of the egg that I thought had been caused by getting knocked around by hatchlings. I moved everybody to the brooder only to hear chirping coming from the marans egg I thought wasn't viable. I immediately put the two newest hatchlings back in the bator and checked humidity, it never dropped below 76% and quickly went back to 85%. Looking closely, I can see the chick made that hole and I intermittently see wet feather edges poking in and out, so it's obviously a complete internal and external pip. I'm enclosing a pic. You can see where I had marked the air cell at lockdown. That pip is NOWHERE near that air cell. My gut tells me to give the chick more time before intervening

. What I'm wondering though, since I have ZERO experience, is: is there anything I should do now? If not, how long should I wait before doing anything? Did I do the right thing putting a couple hatchlings back in with it for "encouragement?" Thank you all so much in advance.

 

[Offshoreorca]

One of my marans pipped like this and hatched out just fine on its own. You're right that they do their external and internal pip at the same time when malpositioned like this, so it can take them longer than normal to get from pip to zip. Sometimes you will need to help because of movement constraints. Try to give it some time to hatch on its own, but it shouldn't take the chick longer than 48hrs from pip to zip if malpositioned. As long as it is active, peeping, and making chewing motions with its beak you can let it rest a little longer - once the chewing motion stops or it shows signs of weakening and struggle, you'll know that it has to be assisted. Mine took about 30 hrs from pip to zip when malpositioned.

Make sure you keep the incubator dark as you don't want the chicks in with it to punt it around too much. A little bit of moving is fine and normal, but it's not always a good thing to have chicks in there if they are extremely active.

 

[tess36]

What if I can't see the beak? Should I pull open that flap of membrane so I can, or for now just go with peeping sounds? Thank you for responding!

One of my marans pipped like this and hatched out just fine on its own. You're right that they do their external and internal pip at the same time when malpositioned like this, so it can take them longer than normal to get from pip to zip. Sometimes you will need to help because of movement constraints. Try to give it some time to hatch on its own, but it shouldn't take the chick longer than 48hrs from pip to zip if malpositioned. As long as it is active, peeping, and making chewing motions with its beak you can let it rest a little longer - once the chewing motion stops or it shows signs of weakening and struggle, you'll know that it has to be assisted. Mine took about 30 hrs from pip to zip when malpositioned.

Make sure you keep the incubator dark as you don't want the chicks in with it to punt it around too much. A little bit of moving is fine and normal, but it's not always a good thing to have chicks in there if they are extremely active.

 

[nchls school]

Since other chicks have already hatched you should be able to assist now. The chick seems, by the picture, to be pipping at the wrong end. Slowly remove enough shell so you can see the membrane. If the membrane is milky white with plump veins return the egg to the incubator. If the membrane isn't white and appears bloodless, or nearly so, remove shell and membrane just enough so the chick can push its way out of the shell.Carefully push the edges of the membrane back and over the remaining shell as much as you can so the membrane does not dry to the chick preventing it from exiting the shell when it's time. Allow the chick to emerge on its own; removing the shell may prove disasterous as the yolk sack might noy be completely absorbed.

 

[Offshoreorca]

What if I can't see the beak? Should I pull open that flap of membrane so I can, or for now just go with peeping sounds? Thank you for responding!

I sometimes take off the small flap of membrane to be able to watch the chick - have the same incubator and a quick in-and-out doesn't effect the hatching of my eggs at all. If you do decide to assist, be super careful and go slowly as this little one might still be absorbing yolk or blood vessels. Do you know how long ago you noticed the pip?

 

[tess36]

I sometimes take off the small flap of membrane to be able to watch the chick - have the same incubator and a quick in-and-out doesn't effect the hatching of my eggs at all. If you do decide to assist, be super careful and go slowly as this little one might still be absorbing yolk or blood vessels. Do you know how long ago you noticed the pip?

The pip was there when we woke up this morning. Two of my blues and the other Marans egg had hatched. That was around 0900. The remaining two blues externally pipped,zipped, and hatched in less than an hour apart and within about 45 minutes time.

 

[Offshoreorca]

The pip was there when we woke up this morning. Two of my blues and the other Marans egg had hatched. That was around 0900. The remaining two blues externally pipped,zipped, and hatched in less than an hour apart and within about 45 minutes time.

Okay, so it happened overnight sometime. Normally pip to zip is up to 24hrs. I think it would be pretty safe to say that if by tomorrow morning you have no progress it's probably time to investigate and see if it needs assistance. If you think it needs it earlier, then just be careful.

 

[tess36]

Ok. This is what I currently have. I see no signs of liquid, the membrane was tan and pretty rubbery to pull open. My two videos didn't have the appropriate file extension, so they won't load. Here's a pic for what it's worth. I have chirping, I can see respiratory effort. Even when it looks likes it's really putting forth some effort to move, I don't really see the egg moving, if that makes sense.

 

[tess36]

Okay, so it happened overnight sometime. Normally pip to zip is up to 24hrs. I think it would be pretty safe to say that if by tomorrow morning you have no progress it's probably time to investigate and see if it needs assistance. If you think it needs it earlier, then just be careful.

I think I'm ok with waiting until tomorrow. As long as my humidity is high, having that opening won't be an issue, right? I would much rather let this chick do it on its own, if possible. I got worried because I realized it had pipped in the wrong place and didn't know how to proceed. Thank you for your help. I'll check periodically for chirping and movement, but otherwise, try to sit on my hands and hope for a chick hopping around the incubator in the morning!

 

[nchls school]

The "tan" that I see in the shell membrane not the membrane enclosing the chick. Open the hole enough to see the membrane underneath. If the membrane is as I described in my prior post the chick needs help now; not tomorrow as it would, likely, be too late. Again, if the membrane is milky white and the veins are full of blood it is too early to assist. You will not hurt the chick by checking that membrane now.