Hi,I have a chick trying to hatch. It's started to hatch 2 days ago, and continues very slowly to try and breakout of her shell but doesn't seem to be able to. She is still alive, she talks, I can see her breathing and moving, but is making real slow progress on getting out of her shell.
So my question is: should I just continue to wait and let her do it on her own? or should I try to help?
There are two schools of thought on this: If it isn't strong enough to get out it may not be a strong/healthy chicken later so let nature handle it, or help it out and see what happens.
If I was in this situation, "I" would crack open the shell after two days because the chick is probably exhausted at this point and may not be able to finish the job. I have this problem with my Marans eggs even though the humidity is perfect. So, I crack it open the ones that have been struggling for a day and remove the top and sometimes even get the chick out and leave it with the shell and umbilical attached (as it would be if it got out by itself).
Good luck with the hatch!
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