I have 6 chicks out of 12 that have hatched and lost one already Well i have another that has been trying to come out since last night and his pip has barely gotten any bigger. Since last night he has been peeping REALLY loud and moving but has barely made any progress. I just a few hot water soaked paper towels in the incubator next to him incase its not humid enough in there. Does anyone have any suggestions of what to do! I dont want to lose another one of my babies! Thanks so much for your help! --Katherine
The water papertowels was a good start. Try misting the egg a bit and crack it a little more where he's already cracked it. If it bleeds, stop.
I have had chicks take over 24hrs from pip to hatch. One thing to check if they do take a long time is to make sure they are not stuck. I have had a couple that died after pipping and I didn't realize they were stuck. This was when I first started hatching. Many people have said do not help under any circumstances as they will die. I have since helped. I usually put a cloth and paper towel on a heating pad and have a dish of warm water and q-tips or I use my fingertip to keep the membrane soften while breaking off the shell. If you can't see the beak, I would carefully peal the shell without tearing the membrane around the line the chick would normally zip. Is there a hole where the chick has penetrated the membrane? Also there are two membranes an outer membrane which usually look white and an inner clear membrane where the blood vessels are. You could pick the shell on both sides of the pip and see if you can see the beak and moisten the membrane with warm water with either your fingertip or a Q-tip. If you see the beak and the chick is alive then put it back into the incubator to let it hatch itself. I usually wait at least 24 hrs from pip before helping the chick zip and if it is stuck then I may help it hatch. You have to be very careful as the blood vessels may still be in tact and not dried enough and the chick can bleed to death. After I have zipped the shell if the chick isn't stuck, put it back in the incubator to finish hatching. You may want to put the egg in a moist paper towel or mist the egg. There are times when I have had to assist the chick hatch too but I try not to if I don't have to. Good luck...
