Should I help this chick hatch?!?

[mswt321]

All the other chicks have hatched. This one has been like this for hours and has made no progress. I need to decrease the humidity so I can get the chicks dry and ready to transfer to the brooder. It keeps moving its beak but that is about all that is happening. All the other chicks hatched quickly once they reached this point.

 

[Pyxis]

Don't decrease the humidity, but you can open the incubator quickly and removed the hatched ones to the brooder. How long has it been externally pipped with no progress?

 

[mswt321]

I'm not sure but the open 1/2 inch whole has been there for at least 5 hours.

 

[Pyxis]

I would usually say wait 24 hours after the external pip before helping but since the rest are hatched and we don't know how long it's been like this you can carefully open the shell over the air cell to get an idea of what's going on in there. Don't remove the internal membrane, just the shell, and only do this in the air cell. Spread some neosporin on the internal membrane to keep it moist and from drying out. Then assess how far along it is in absorption and post another picture if possible and we'll go from there

 

[mswt321]

I did it and it hatched!! Thank you

 

[Pyxis]

Fantastic! Glad it worked out so well