Ok, this may be long but interesting and maybe helpful to others with this situation.
I'll set the situation up:
18 eggs in incubator:9 OEGB and 9 Silkie
The 2 silkies having trouble had pipped early in the hatch.
All others hatched BEFORE I opened the bator to intervene.
The temp held at 100 degrees in Little Giant still air.
Humidity was 70 to 76 % (before and during the hatch).
The 2 that had trouble:
The first of the 2 to pip (Baby2, as I call her) was able to get the beak through on the correct wider end and peep for hours. I noticed her getting stiller and stiller towards the end of all others having hatched out. Found out through intervention the air cell was in the middle of the egg-not the wide end.
The second chick had pipped at the NARROW end of the shell, was cheeping loudly and moving beak side to side for hours (this one really wanted out). The air cell was in correct position, but chick was breech-pipped in narrow end.
The intervention:
Baby2 was helped first. Took her completely out of bator. Held her as I used DULL tweezers to gently remove eggshell around her pip (she was not able to "zip" around the entire shell). Discovered her membrane was completely dry. Added drops of water to the exposed membrane that I had help "zip". Also added drops to the INSIDE of membrane where her beak was not in danger (so I helped wet membrane internally as well as externally. I then used a very wet washcloth and wrapped the chick (in remaining shell) with beak pointing up and not covered with wet cloth. Replaced her to bator.
Second silkie: Same process, but I additionally found the air cell, and chipped away the shell at the air cell to give more mobility. Also wet chick from inside and outside membrane. This membrane had dried also, and the chick was not able to "zip". I think this one had trouble zipping due to being breech (in the wrong end).
I repeated this process of removing a bit more shell and wetting the membrane several times over several night hours. I then started adding some lifting of the membrane to help them out a bit. The first, Baby2, had a tiny bit of bleeding, and I stopped and restarted an hour or so later.
Their hatch:
Fell to sleep exhausted and woke up four hours later to lots of chirping. Both had made it out of the shell/membrane and were begining to dry. I fell confident that had I not helped, they both would have perished. I truly believe that the "survival of the fittest" does not always apply. In my case, both chicks had problems hatching based on egg issues such as air cell and or being breech. The second chick is as perky, healthy and happy as can be.
Update on chick #1 (Baby2). I'll call her a her. Her health has fluctuated greatly. First 1 1/2 days she was up, cheeping, eating, drinking, and playing with the rest. As day 2 progressed, she apparently developed spraddle leg although no others got it. I bandaid-ed her legs and she was up strraight and eating well. Day 3 she started sitting down and refusing to stand. She looked weak and I started helping her drink. I also started mixing some liquid food for her: a combination of finely crumbled starter, tiny amount of sugar, tiny amount of apple cider vinegar, and water. I have fed her through a tiny shot syringe and she now seems to be rebounding a bit.
I think Baby2 may or may not make it. she has had some uphill battles and may be one of those geneticaly not up to living-but to me, it is very worth the effort of at least trying (I am always the person who sees the glass as half full, not half empty). As long as she is chirping and eating and making an effort to stand (she is a fighter), and does not appear to be suffering, I will endeavor to help her along. If she makes it through her physical challenges she may end up being my house chicken
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Summary: (Sorry it's so long)
In my case instinct proved good and timing was good to help chicks out. I did have a feeling that Baby2 had some genetic issues even as I helped her when she was inside the shell. But to my children and I, we think that every chick like every human deserves a chance.
