pip to hatch--how long?

It can be 24+ hours from pip to hatch. Just be patient and don't open the lid!!

 

It can take a half hour, it can take an entire day... just leave it be, and resist the urge to help it out. Don't open the incubator - you'll let all the precious moisture out, and it will do more harm to the chick. I had one take 19 hours from pip to hatch, and a quail took 3 days! Hang in there, and congratulations!

 

It can take from 30 min to 10 hrs (this my experience)they make this pip then rest or sleep as long as they desire to and if U try to help, most of the time it makes things worse.

 

I found this info at this website:

http://chickscope.beckman.uiuc.edu/reso … dures.html


HOW THE CHICK EMERGES FROM THE SHELL

The head of the chick develops at the large end of the egg. Between the 15th and 16th days, the chick orients itself so that its head is near the air cell at the large end of the egg. Not long before the chick is ready to attempt to make its way out of the shell its neck acquires a double bend so that its beak is under its right wing and pointed toward the air cell. About the 19th day the chick thrusts its head forward. Its beak quickly breaks through the inner shell membrane, and the chick's lungs begin to function. Complete breathing by the lungs usually does not occur until the 20th day of incubation.

Using its egg tooth (a tiny, sharp, horny projection on the end of its beak), the chick pecks at the shell thousands of times. Finally, the young bird pips its way through the shell and begins to breathe air directly from the outside. After the chick has made a hole in the shell, it stops pipping for three to eight hours and rests. During this time, it is acclimating its lungs to the outside atmosphere. After the resting stage is completed, the second stage of pipping begins.

The chick begins to turn slowly inside the egg. As it turns, usually counter-clockwise, the cutting edge of the chick tooth continues to chip away. In two to five hours, the chick has made about three quarters of a turn inside the egg. As the chick progresses in its movement around the shell, it begins pushing on the egg cap (large end). Squirming and struggling, the chick works feverishly for about 40 minutes pushing at the cap. Finally with a vigorous shove, the chick breaks free from the shell, still wet and panting.

When the chick is freed completely from the shell, it lies still. Its energy has been virtually exhausted, and it is extremely tired. After a rest of some few minutes, the chick begins to rise to its feet and gain coordination of its muscles. Within a few days the egg tooth, its usefulness over, will disappear.