Please Help - day 23, internally pipped - attempted assist by making small hole in air cell but blood came out

[Chick Lover 61010]

Please Help - day 23, internally pipped - attempted assist by making small hole in air cell but blood came out…
My baby is pepping very faintly - definitely internally pipped, I can clear,y see beak in air cell. First noticed it peeping yesterday mid afternoon so was obviously internally pipped then. Is now the following day, and as I was worried it needed air decided to take low risk approach and gently pierce the air cell to give it some external air. To my horror blood came out. That was several hours ago. Baby is still pepping very faintly but am terrified I am going to lose her. Can anybody please tell me Why did blood come out and have I harmed my baby? I candled prior to incision, and it was definitely in air cell. And what do I do now? It’s defiantly past 24 hours since she’s internally pipped, but am very worried if I assist further I will harm her

 

[WoDia]

That has never happened to me. Hopefully the bleeding stopped and didn’t start filling the air cell. I’m asking @Wyorp Rock to help you.

 

[Chick Lover 61010]

Thank you so much. She’s a rare lavender Orpington egg and I desperately don’t want to lose her

 

[WoDia]

Thank you so much. She’s a rare lavender Orpington egg and I desperately don’t want to lose her

I hope all goes well. In the meantime, do you know if there’s blood in the air cell itself?

 

[Chick Lover 61010]

No I’m not sure - it looks clear from what I can see but quite hard to tell. There’s movement in the egg and she just pepped once just then when I picked up egg to candle

 

[WoDia]

No I’m not sure - it looks clear from what I can see but quite hard to tell. There’s movement in the egg and she just pepped once just then when I picked up egg to candle

Okay, I’m tagging more people. I’m not sure how to really help you with this aside from urging you to watch the egg very closely and look for signs of zipping. It sounds like the chick may be actively attempting to zip (you said there’s movement).
@azygous
@Eggcessive
@Lacy Duckwing

 

[Chick Lover 61010]

My goodness I have just candled again and feel physically sick, have just realised that I pieced the exact end of the egg where the air cell is and didn’t realise that the chick came right up to that point on the other side of the egg - I thought I had plenty of space I can see her beak clearly, should I assist with another hole above that point to give her a start in breaking out? I am so worried the carbon dioxide levels in the incubator are too low as I have opened it so much over the last 24 hours assisting 2 other chicks - should I try and help her?

 

[Chick Lover 61010]

I don’t think I have a choice, she needs air

 

[WoDia]

My goodness I have just candled again and feel physically sick, have just realised that I pieced the exact end of the egg where the air cell is and didn’t realise that the chick came right up to that point on the other side of the egg - I thought I had plenty of space I can see her beak clearly, should I assist with another hole above that point to give her a start in breaking out? I am so worried the carbon dioxide levels in the incubator are too low as I have opened it so much over the last 24 hours assisting 2 other chicks - should I try and help her?

Okay, stay calm. I’ve incubated lots of chicks, and I assisted a few, but I’ve never had blood issues. So, tell me if the beak’s poking out of the egg. Is she peeping? Is she quite active? Is there any more bleeding at all? Make sure the humidity is at 70% and make sure the vents are fully open. I can ONLY tell you what I’d do in that situation. It’s possible the chick could be shrink-wrapped, since you said you’ve opened the incubator a lot. If she’s staying active and moving and peeping, watch closely for any progress or hatching issues. If you believe she’s able to breathe air outside of the egg now, I’d just watch very closely. If too much time passes, and you KNOW she’s not hatching on her own… assist.

 

[WoDia]

If you have to assist, just do the bare minimum and place her back in the incubator to see what she does. If she’s breathing outside air, then you have time to wait and see if she can break out on her own. Her yolk may not be absorbed yet.