Pip close to pointy end day 19

[only1bgirl]

Day 19 have eight eggs in lockdown and first to pip is towards pointy end, Pipped and stopped, just made sure the chick could breath. It squirms and taps beak together but no chirping. I'm assuming it's not breathing air yet because of lack of chirping and that it's not ready to hatch yet since none of the others have even pipped. Does this sound right and does anyone have any suggestions or advice? These are Silkies by the way.

 

[MeepBeep]

When this happens to me I take a paper towel or toilet paper roll and cut off about a 1/2" or 3/4" tall ring... I then take that ring and put it in the incubator and place the egg on top of that ring so the ring acts sort of like a nest cradling the egg... Once that is done you can rotate, turn and position the egg in pretty much any orientation so that that pip hole is at the very top and elevated to the highest point... This allows a little air pocket to form at the pip hole and helps prevent that area from filling with any remaining liquid that is in the egg...

This isn't my picture, I stole it from an Easter egg coloring site, but it's the same idea...

 

[Yorkshire Coop]

Take a deep breath and try not to panic.. Eggs that pip the wrong end can and do hatch on there own. If it were me I would make a note of when it piped and leave it 12 hours before even thinking about helping. As you say you have made sure it has air so now it could possibly resting. https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/step-by-step-guide-to-assisted-hatching. I have found this link most useful for when it comes to assisting. Could you post a pic of where it has pipped in the egg. Do you think the chick as done an internal pip can you see the beak?

 

[MeepBeep]

I did notice that around the original pip the membranes were drying out and stuck to chick, poor thing has an eye glued shut.

If you can increase humidity in the incubator (do it safe so none drown) for example us a spray bottle filled with warm water open mist and close every so often, or lay down some wet paper towels in the incubator... Also take the egg that is open and trying out and using a q-tip and warm water moisten up the dried area that is sticking to the chick, then take another damp paper towel and wrap it around said egg to increase the humidity in the immediate area, and I generally let a little bit of the paper towel touch the membrane, as this allows the moister to wick out of the paper towel and into the membrane... If you don't keep it moist you will shrink wrap the chick and that will cause more issues...

 

[Yorkshire Coop]

Really pleased for you that they are all not all the wrong way!!! How is your wrong way one doing?

 

[Yorkshire Coop]

Very sorry about the chick but sometimes things just are not meant to be especially the ones that don't get the hatching right. Hope you have some more healthy ones soon

 

[Yorkshire Coop]

Congrats on your chicks. Your right it is all worth it in the end when you see them chirping about the brooder. I have some In incubator on day 8 and can't wait already I even got the brooder box out today which is far too early. Must have looked at the incubator a thousand times even though nothing happening.. Keep us posted on how they get on

 

[only1bgirl]

They are so cute! The assisted chick took about 30 hours to get her posture, was worried about spraddle legs, turns out she is just a chub and it took awhile to get her strength up. Her hatch mate has a curled under toe though, keep trying to splint it but it shakes it off.

 

[Yorkshire Coop]

Lovely chick . Really does make it worth while.:yiipchick

 

[AmyLynn2374]

I have a mess. I have multiple eggs that were added to a setting hen's clutch, so no way to know what day/stage they are at. The hens traded spots a time or 2, so there are 3 chicks hatched already and that hen has stopped brooding the remainder. I brought them in to my really sorry attempt at an incubator to try to finish the remaining 3 eggs. Worst planned chickraising scheme ever!

okay, now that that is out of the way, one of the 3 remaining eggs looked like it got stepped on or otherwise smacked on one side, when I found it there was a miniscule spot of dried blood on the membrane and lots of shell fragments gone from around the edge. Chick is alive and peeping. I'm trying to keep humidity high, misting. covering, keeping warm. I do have a combo temp/humidity gauge in there, but it has been drier than 30% occasionally, and I try to bring it up to 65 or more. Really bad setup, I know. What can I do to help this chick, how would I know to stop assisting if he's not ready, and how long can they be peeping ahead of final hatching readiness? Thanks for swallowing your disgust at my ineptitude! Feel free to chew me out along with advice, I promise not to be offended!

Well, not knowing how far along puts a big hinderance to sound advice, so the advice that you are given you'll have to make your own judgement call on wether to use it or not based on what you are experiencing with the chick. In an unharmed egg (in cases where you hear peeping within the shell) it is after the chick makes it's internal pip. Usually somewhere between a few hours to a day before you see the external pip. This is what I would do. Not knowing what day they were on or how advanced into the hatch process it is, I woud take a wet paper towel and wrap around 3/4 of the egg, leaving the spot where the shell is missing upright and replace him to the "incubator" and give him time to see what happens naturally.

Now, if you assist. You know it's time to stop when there is active bleeding from the veining in the membranes and/or you spot unabsorbed yolk. Assisting should be done slowly and a little at a time replacing the chick to the bator (I prefer to keep a wet/damp paper towel around the back of the egg.) for periods of rest and to give the chick a chance to make it's own progress.

I wish you well, but realistically, w/out knowing the incubation period he's at, without knowing how much damage the chick itself has sustained and w/o a proper incubator with constant adequate humidity, the probability for a healthy hatch is pretty low. But that doesn't mean we can't try.