Should I help this baby?

[Laney3535]

I have 4 eggs still in the incubator. All the other chicks hatched yesterday. Except I think three died during lockdown. No internal pip, no movement during candle..... I have a Silkie who has been trying to pip for about 14 hours now. She's trying, I can hear her peeping and pecking! Just no pip! I'm worried the shell may be too thick to pip.... Should I make an artificial pip to help her? I wouldn't ever unzip. Just maybe help her get the pip. She just keeps peeping louder as time passes. The egg is rockin and rolling around. She just can't seem to get through the shell.

 

[Laney3535]

Oh! We are at day 21. So I know it may be to early to help. Just wanted someone else's opinion

 

[FridayYet]

I'm not a big helper, but if you want to make sure it has enough air, you can scratch a small hole in the air cell where you think it should pip. Drywall screws work well, but make sure you lift a chip outwards, don't punch into the shell. if you see any blood, stop.

It's a hard decision on when to assist (or not). Good luck!

 

[DRaeMc]

If you assist, mark the egg while candling so you don't accidentally hurt the baby, then mark a small X so you know where to score the egg. Chip away the shell slowly. If she hasn't internally pipped you're going to have to help that first. If you see any blood around the membrane stop. You can open the cell the beak and still go slow. This is a very slow process and if you artificially pip, you're going to have to help with the rest. It's a LONG process and will take you hours, just as it would for them. You will have to keep the membrane moist. Not wet, but moist so they don't shrink or drown.

 

[Laney3535]

I ended up pipping a hole in the egg just to make sure she has sufficient air to breathe! It had been about 17 hours and I was worried about her running out of air haha. She pipped and hatched about 5 or 6 hours later! Nice healthy happy chick! I gave up on the other three on day 23, I float tested and they were all dead. I opened them up, and one was malpositioned, ones he'd was jammed between a leg a wing and the side of the shell. He was fully developed and a lost fully absorbed his yolk sack, but he couldn't get into position to pip. The other one was in perfect position to pip, but I am glad it didn't make it.... It had no eyeballs

 

[DRaeMc]

Oh geez I'm sorry about the other babies, but I'm glad she made it without any issues.