when do you help a chick emerge?

[lilblessings5]

How do you know when you should be helping a chick out of its shell? I had one pip yesterday early afternoon and its still trying to get out. a good part of the shell has been pecked away but there is a white membrane he is trying to get through and has finally just started a small hole there. Is he okay for awhile? Or should I help him out and HOW do you help them out?

 

[Wynette]

You will get varying opinions on this question, and you should check this thread:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=48726

My personal opinion is not not help. If a chick cannot hatch on its own, it's not strong enough for some reason. Since I sell hatching eggs, I do not want a weak hatching gene in my breed pens. If you are just hatching for yourself, that's a different story. Educate yourself before you decide. They can take over 24 hours to zip from the pip stage, BTW. BEST of luck on your hatch!

 

[Penturner]

I would agree, you will get opinions that are all over the place. I also am of the class that says don't help ever. There are reasons a chick is not able to hatch and you do not want to pass that on to future generations. I do make exceptions for those that only plan on getting eggs, want a pet or whatever. As long as the chick is never used to breed. and that does not mean "well I didn't mean to end up breeding it but it was just so cute, so pretty or whatever. Never allow the deficiency that prevented it from hatching on it's own to be passed on. As for what you describe. I don't think you have anything to worry about. It sort of reads a little like, Help is my chick in trouble it is hatching and everything but I don't know if it needs help? The last egg I had hatch pipped at 1;30 in the afternoon, took a couple of hours to make a couple more cracks in the shell and then nothing for 10 hours or so. not a thing except a rock once in a while. then in one hour to the minute it zipped and was just fine at 12;30 in the morning. and I consider that really fast hatching. IT can take up to 2 days in some cases. Your chick is now breathing in to ways. one with it's lungs and partially by all the network of veins inside the shell of the egg. the veins are slowly shutting down and the lungs are taking on more of the work of breathing. this balance needs to work itself out. veins shut down causing the chick to breath more of that cooped up Co2 laden air which causes spasms that break the shell. shell breaks giving more air, spasms stop, more veins shut down. and the cycle continues. The spasms are also what causes the Egg yolk to fully draw int o the body and also strengthen the legs of the chick. It is far far better that your chick does this on their own that to have you help it.

 

[lilblessings5]

Thanks - I appreciate the responses. and understand the process awhole lot better now.

I thought perhaps the white that it was trying to peck through was because the humidity wasn't high enough - so I opened the bator to add more water only to read later that I shouldn't open the incubator at all. So, I hope I didn't do more harm then good.

Defiantly a learning process.

 

[suburbanminifarm]

I help them when they need it. I hatch for myself and every chick is valuable to me. If I am incubating artificially and my humidity was off, then the whole process is artificial and I cannot assume it is a "faulty" chick. I hatch only silkies and now recently seramas so they are not the strongest chicks anyways LOL. I commonly have to help out stuck - to - the - membrane chicks. Of course I am extremely careful and only if the veins are finished absorbing. A few days ago one serama was so badly stuck I had to actually wash his back area off in warm water to get half the shell and membrane off and then blow dry him! Never had one that I regetted helping or that is weaker than the rest but that is just my own limited experience and my 2 cents.

 

[babsbag]

I helped one that my broody left. She left two, and one was ready to EXPLODE, (it did, when I did the egg autopsy, yikes). I think she left them since she knew her brood of 8 was in danger. The other one had pipped and was peeping, but it was very cold, so I helped. It was a little weak when I hatched, but again, it was cold. It is also almost 2 days younger than her oldest chick. I just made sure that it got to eat first, drink first, and didn't get trampled. It has been 3 days and now I can't tell which one it is, except that it will eat from my hand and the others won't. I guess I am a mom or sorts. It wasn't the chicks fault that it got left behind. I was the one that kept stuffing eggs under the broody.

Everyone has to make their own decisions. I see the logic in survival of the fittest, but sometimes nature is just cruel and I can't play along.

Good luck with whatever you decide.

 

[ccoomber]

I have helped in the past but mainly because i screwed up the humidity and the chicks were 'shrink' wrapped. So they could ot hatch because i screwed up rather than being to weak to do so. The 2 i helped hatch are strong and healthy and just come into to lay. However, my girls are not for breeding just as pets and for eggs, so i don't have to worry about future generations of chicks trying to hatch.

 

[lilblessings5]

Well the little guy finally made it out. I really wonder if he is going to make it though...do they always look half dead when they first emerge? It looks like he has some goo stuck to his butt as well. Any suggestions?

 

[lilblessings5]

Quote:
I've heard others use the term shrink wrapped? What do you mean by that?

 

[MagsC]

Well, lately, I have helped more than I ever thought I WOULD, I generally took a hands off policy....but the ones I have helped are all doing well, so no regrets. I helped when it seemed as if they were having a lot of trouble.