ok I need advice I have a chick who has pipped kind of midways on egg but closer to the small end I don't know when it pipped I only noticed when my chicks rolled the egg I thought it had died inside but watched it fir awhile and saw movement around pip area. its been since yesterday evening should I give it till this evening then help it? I had to help one out yesterday its head was under its wing and it wad having trouble. It worried me cause it was all gooey but no bleeding, although its little belly was almost black from absorbing blood from vessels but it was very strong upon arrival. This morning it was up and moving around and chirping loudly
I'd leave it till this evening, keep talking to him to make sure all is still well and give encouragement. Lots of them hatch the wrong end successfully without any help at all. If it gets to late this evening and still no progress (no more pipping) but there is still movement, they might be stuck.
If you feel the time is right (sometimes baby cries incredibly long and loud, desperate screaming cries when they know they are stuck) -
Use a pair of sterilised tweezers to pull back a TINY piece of shell, but don't touch the membrane! They will probably starting crying more - 1. because it's colder out of the incubator (make sure you do it in a warm place and be quick opening and closing 'bator) 2. Because they are getting frustrated and recognise you are helping (I've seen videos where both mum and other chicks peck to help struggling chicks).
You must be EXTREMELY CAREFUL NOT TO TEAR ANY MEMBRANE the chick could bleed to death in seconds. It's completely up to you whether you intervene, I have intervened before and I was successful. Treat every 8th of a millimetre of shell as if it were meters to us humans.
Keep your elbow on the table and wrist leaning on a bit of towel or a dry sponge for support. Doing something this small, you will realise how much your hands shake and how big our movements are, under pressure your finger may twitch and rip or break too much....
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