Pipped almost 24 hours ago...not hatched yet.

[dhunt81]

Hi all, this is my first time posting. I am hatching chicks for a homeschool project for my son. It's been a wonderful learning experience for our whole family. Yesterday we made it to day 19 and one of the chicks started to pip. It will be 24 hours by about noon today, and it still hasn't started to zip. Should we assist in any way or just leave it alone? It's definitely still alive as we can hear it peeping from time to time. We can also see movement inside, looks like it's opening its beak over and over or maybe it's breathing. I thought because it started pipping a couple days early it may be ok to leave it a bit longer. None of the other eggs have pipped yet. Any advice greatly appreciated! Thanks!

 

[MissMonty]

My first chick did that. He didn't start zipping until after 24 hours. He hatched out all on his own tho Once he started zipping it was a matter of minutes before he was out!

 

[dhunt81]

My first chick did that. He didn't start zipping until after 24 hours. He hatched out all on his own tho Once he started zipping it was a matter of minutes before he was out!

Thanks for the reassurance. This has been nerve wracking! lol! I haven't been this stressed since I gave birth to my son 10 years ago!

 

[dhunt81]

Little guy/girl just made it out about an hour ago! Pretty much exactly 24 hours after pipping. You’re right, the zipping stage was super quick! None of the other eggs have pipped yet, can I reach in there and take out the empty egg shell or should I just leave it alone?

 

[Carter Martin]

It would probably be alright to open it up and take the shell out but you want to do it as quick as possible without letting much heat and humidity out. But it would probably be fine to leave the egg shell in as well. Just a question: you are leaving the chick in the incubator for now aren't you?

 

[dhunt81]

It would probably be alright to open it up and take the shell out but you want to do it as quick as possible without letting much heat and humidity out. But it would probably be fine to leave the egg shell in as well. Just a question: you are leaving the chick in the incubator for now aren't you?

Yes I’ve left the hatched chick in there. It is super active though and running into all the other eggs and moving them around. Lol. I assume that’s normal? There’s another one pipping now so I think I’ll leave the egg shell in there for now so I don’t ruin the humidity.

 

[Carter Martin]

That should be good. It is normal for the chick to run around into all the other eggs. Chicks can be in the incubator for up to 24 hours after hatching without food and water. The chick needs to be dry before it is taken out of the incubator. It can take quite awhile for the chicks to dry.

 

[JT_Chicks]

This is reasuring because I have a chick that popped like 10 hours ago and haven’t started zipping yet.

 

[Quail1567]

I have 1 quail chick pipped 24 hours ago no zip yet a little worried should I assist it. It’s not peeping that often.