PIPS!!!

[imogene08]

I have two eggs that have pipped I'm worried that they might be shrink wrapped.

 

[WalnutHill]

Are they rocking? Are they cheeping with the "call" sound that sounds like a question (Here I am, where are you)? Can you see the tip of the beak through the hole?

If so, it's still waiting time. Although some chicks just bust right out in 20-30 minutes after pip, others take their sweet old time (perhaps they pipped a little before their time) and can wait up to 24 hours before zipping and popping out. As long as they don't make distress calls or stop calling altogether or stop wiggling, things should be okay.

More chicks die from early assistance than from getting stuck in their shell, I think.

 

[imogene08]

The membranes are dry and tough. I patted some water on them to help there beaks are up and they are pipping but no rocking.

 

[imogene08]

update: one chick has died a believed. It went mute and stoped chirping. The other is breathing well and back in the incubator to get the rest of itself out.