When to help after 24 hours

[mak224]

Hi all,

I've tried to do as much research as I can, but everything I have read says from pipping to hatching can take up to 24 hours. But how long after 24 hours should I wait?
Our chick pipped last evening around this time, and made decent progress until late morning today. At this point the beak is sticking out, with 2 toes and she keeps trying to move/get out. I'm worried because it's been a long time without any progress, despite her trying. Her beak isn't by any pieces of shell so I'm not sure she can zip.
She's peeping and keeps making the same movement without any change. How long would you all wait?

Thanks in advance, we are worried for our little chick!!

 

[Pyxis]

Sounds like she's stuck. I would definitely open the egg over the air cell. Did she start to zip and now she's stuck like this? If so she's ready and you can get her out of the shell.

Follow the steps in this article and you'll be fine: https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/guide-to-assisted-hatching-for-all-poultry.72886/

 

[mak224]

Sounds like she's stuck. I would definitely open the egg over the air cell. Did she start to zip and now she's stuck like this? If so she's ready and you can get her out of the shell.

Follow the steps in this article and you'll be fine: https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/guide-to-assisted-hatching-for-all-poultry.72886/

There never seemed to be any actual zipping, just a small crack, then a small hole, and now it's maybe an inch or so hole? But no zip around the end of the egg.

 

[Pyxis]

There never seemed to be any actual zipping, just a small crack, then a small hole, and now it's maybe an inch or so hole? But no zip around the end of the egg.

I would definitely open up the air cell to see what's going on.

 

[mak224]

Thanks for the advice so far!
I carefully removed some of the shell around the original hole. She’s breathing just fine and chirping occasionally, just doesn’t seem overly interested in coming out.
I guess I just leave her be for now since breathing isn’t a problem?

 

[mak224]

Well, the poor little thing just died. This morning she still hadn’t progressed at all and the membrane was getting dried and tough, so I wrapped a warm wet paper towel around and enlarged the hole a tiny bit more. She just got weaker and weaker and died a few minutes ago. I wish I knew why. After she passed I opened the shell to try to figure it out and she had a sizable yolk sac still attached. No bleeding or active veins in the membrane though, which I had been careful to check for before.
So she pipped right on time at day 21, then stopped progressing on day 22, and now died on day 23 with a full yolk sac.

 

[Pyxis]

Poor thing Did she look correctly positioned in the egg?

Just for future reference, avoid a wet paper towel, as that can chill chicks. Instead just keep the membrane moist with coconut oil or bacitracin like it says in that article I posted earlier.

 

[mak224]

Thank you, I’ll definitely keep those on hand for our next hatch.
Her one foot was up over her head and presenting out of the egg with her beak, she also seemed to take up the entire shell, I did not see any space for an air cell.
From what I’ve been reading, it seems possible that my temperature may have been slightly lower than optimal. I want to do everything I can to prevent this again.

 

[Pyxis]

Sounds like a foot over head malposition. That's the most common malposition, and it prevents the chick from being able to hatch on its own. The odd positioning very well could have inhibited the yolk absorption, which would explain why her yolk wasn't absorbed.

Not your fault at all, there wasn't much more that you could have done.

 

[mak224]

Thank you, that makes me feel a little bit better