Need help!

[madisoncook]

Hi everyone i have eggs that i had a hen sitting on for about 7 days but that is not known for sure and unknown when she laid them and she decided to get up i placed them right in the incubator and they have been good since they have been in the incubator 15 days and this morning around 8am i noticed a chick pipped it’s been 14 hours and made no process so i chipped just a little bit of the shell away from my research i believe it may be in a incorrect position what can i do to help first picture is it’s pip secound picture is after chipping just a little of the shell away it is chirping and breathing still

 

[WhatsUpDuck]

I have zero experience on this I'm sorry. Have you looked for close topics in the search function on here? But from what I read if you assist before 24 hours it is likely to soon to help. If it is making chewing motions with its beak it is likely still absorbing the yolk sack. Also if you see any major blood vessels do NOT continue assisting.

 

[Debbie292d]

Hi,

I was going to suggest taking a tweezers and pull that membrane off up to where the shell is, but do I see blood already? If so I'd leave it alone for a couple of hours. When you try, if it starts bleeding at all, it's not ready to come out so just leave it alone again for a few more hours.

Here's an article about assisting that should help while you're waiting: https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/guide-to-assisted-hatching-for-all-poultry.72886/

 

[chickengr]

you can wet the eggshell with lukewarm water and make a bigger hole so that the chick can breathe. good luck!

 

[Ridgerunner]

Hi Madison, welcome to the forum! Glad you joined!

I can see the beak so the chick is probably in position. Before a chick is ready to hatch it needs to absorb the yolk, dry up blood vessels in that membrane, and do a few other things. Some chicks do a lot of that between internal pip and external pip. These tend to zip not that long after external pip. But some do a lot of that after external pip. These can take 24 hours or longer to zip after external pip. There is so much unknown here that it does make it hard to know what to do. But since I think I see blood I do not think it is ready to finish hatching.

I would put it back in the incubator and leave it there for another 12 hours or so unless I saw something that requires immediate attention. Keep the incubator closed and maintain high humidity. Do not try to help it more. I think that gives you the best chance for it to hatch.

It has been over 12 hours since your post. What is happening?

 

[madisoncook]

Hi Madison, welcome to the forum! Glad you joined!

I can see the beak so the chick is probably in position. Before a chick is ready to hatch it needs to absorb the yolk, dry up blood vessels in that membrane, and do a few other things. Some chicks do a lot of that between internal pip and external pip. These tend to zip not that long after external pip. But some do a lot of that after external pip. These can take 24 hours or longer to zip after external pip. There is so much unknown here that it does make it hard to know what to do. But since I think I see blood I do not think it is ready to finish hatching.

I would put it back in the incubator and leave it there for another 12 hours or so unless I saw something that requires immediate attention. Keep the incubator closed and maintain high humidity. Do not try to help it more. I think that gives you the best chance for it to hatch.

It has been over 12 hours since your post. What is happening?

Happy to announce it is doing well. I did have to assist it this morning. It looked like the membrane had shrink wrapped a little bit around his shoulder and head, so it was actually stuck to the membrane. I don’t think it would’ve hatched if I didn’t help a little bit, but it’s been doing very well since!! I have a few others that have pipped and not making progress and I’m worried they are going to be shrink wrapped as well. It was kind of a Hail Mary hatch since we wasn’t sure how long they have been under mother before bringing them in to the incubator and I’m thinking the humidity levels were way off for their first week.