Over 24 hours to hatch

[Nannie B]

I'm a newbie. Hatching started at midnight monday. All have hatched but one. It pipped early yesterday and had made a pretty big hole but no progress so far. I helped it zip a little following the instructions on byc. I only took away a little shell but it's still not making progress and the other chicks are pecking it. Should I go ahead and move the other chicks to the brooder? The one in the egg is moving and chirping.

 

[RubyNala97]

I'm a newbie. Hatching started at midnight monday. All have hatched but one. It pipped early yesterday and had made a pretty big hole but no progress so far. I helped it zip a little following the instructions on byc. I only took away a little shell but it's still not making progress and the other chicks are pecking it. Should I go ahead and move the other chicks to the brooder? The one in the egg is moving and chirping.

When you made the zip did you break through the inner membrane? Was there any blood? You can moisten the inner membrane with a warm, damp q-tip and check to see if there are veins. I move chicks after 12 hours, sometimes sooner. Just make sure the brooder is the right temp and you can move them whenever you want. But if there is an egg that's been pipped a while I leave one or two chicks in the incubator (usually the last ones that hatched) to give the pipped egg motivation. The egg that's not progressing may have gotten sticky inside and can't turn since its bed so long. Check for veins/blood and post pics of you can.

 

[Nannie B]

I didn't break the membrane but some of it is broken from the chick. No blood. I'm afraid he can't move to position himself cause he hasn't all morning.

 

[RubyNala97]

I didn't break the membrane but some of it is broken from the chick. No blood. I'm afraid he can't move to position himself cause he hasn't all morning.

Ok, all that membrane that you're seeing is the outter membrane. You need to pull that back a little and find the inner membrane. Dampen it with warm water (steer clear of the beak and nostrils) and check to see if there are any active veins. From the pic it looks ready but I can't really see the inner membrane. If the inner membrane looks free of veins you can break it along the zip line. You can keep corn starch or paper towel near by and if you see any blood, just stop and stop the bleeding and give the egg more time. If not you can zip around the air cell enough for the chick to get out but I don't usually pull them out. I take the top off and put them back and let them push out on their own. It usually happens right away or within 5-10 mins. Each situation is different. So just make a little progress and see what you can find out. He may be positioned wrong or stuck.

 

[Nannie B]

Oh no! He pushed out of the shell and (see pic).

 

[Nannie B]

There was no blood.

 

[RubyNala97]

Oh no! He pushed out of the shell and (see pic).

That's pretty small. His position could have been preventing him from absorbing the rest of the yolk. Wrap him in a warm damp paper towel and put him in a cup back in the incubator so he can finish absorbing it. You don't want that to break or rupture so you have to keep from from moving around.

 

[Nannie B]

About how long will it take? What else should I look for? My biggest fear is for this to happen, ugh! Thank you for your help!

 

[RubyNala97]

About how long will it take? What else should I look for? My biggest fear is for this to happen, ugh! Thank you for your help!

I have personally never had that but they can make a lot of progress in just a few hours. I would check it every 3 hours. Once it's absorbed I would put some bacitracin or the best would be vetricyn spray if you have it on there. I think he should be fine. You just want it to absorb without bursting and then have no residual infection. You did good! If there were no veins and he is late, I would bet that he couldn't finish absorbing the yolk due to his position and you most likely saved his life.

 

[Nannie B]

Thank you so much!