worried about egg. need someone with experience to help please!

[cupman]

I have this egg that is sort of pipped. Last night the chick pecked a chunk of shell off but I don't think it pierced the membrane. That was a good 18 hours ago and there has been no progress made on that egg. I can hear it chirping inside the egg... at least I think it's the one chirping. Should I let nature take it's course or is this a situation where I might need to intervene?

edit: it looks like the membrane has been pierced, but it's a hole no bigger than the end of a toothpick. very small.

 

[ReikiStar]

I'm in the "help them out" camp.

Here is a really good sticky on how to help a chick. Some times, all you need to do is get the membrane open and up the humidity, they will do the rest. But if the membrane is too dry or the chick is too large for the egg and can't move it's head enough to break through, you'll have to help more.

Two biggies on helping: Go slowly. S-L-O-W-L-Y and stop if you see blood.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/9316/intervention-helping-your-chicks-hatch

Good luck to you and the chickie!

 

[cupman]

ahhh i cut her a little bigger hole. She's definitely alive but after 2 or 3 chips on the shell I saw a couple droplets of blood. I put her back in. I wish I hadn't messed with it now. I hope I didn't just get it killed. I wonder how many chicks have been killed due to people being impatient. Oh well let's hope for the best... at least she has more room to stick her head out of now.

 

[ReikiStar]

A drop or two of blood isn't necessarily a death sentence. Breathe.... I'm sure you did just fine.

I bet she's glad she can breathe a little better now. Up the humidity so nothing else dries out and lets see if she can do it the rest of the way.

If it helps, once in a rare while a chick pips through a major blood vessel and does bleed to death. No one's fault. If you stopped, put it back in, the vessel will dry up in time as its intended to do.

We've had to help 3 times, all for different reasons. All are big, healthy chickens who just needed a hand during this precarious time.

 

[Squawkbox]

I had 1 chick die from a pipped blood vessel, a TON of blood, and 2 others that pipped veins. One of them lost quite a bit, the shell was covered in it, it was slow for a day or two but then it perked up.
I'm sure yours is fine!

 

[cupman]

Well great news. I left because I had plans but one of my housemates saw the current situation. They realized something was wrong so they googled it. Well, they chipped it out of it's shell and used warm water to peel it from it's membrane.. They really saved the chick. I'm lucky my roommate was smart enough to see a problem and care enough to try and fix it. I'm real happy. I'm the chick lived. I'm sure it would have died before I made it home.

 

[Squawkbox]

That's great news. I helped all mine out of their shells also! Glad your chicky is okay.

 

[ReikiStar]

Nice to hear you have such a thoughtful and smart room-mate. The sticky link I had sent you gave you all that information on how to help them pip to helping them all the way out of the egg, I suggest you read it if you're going to keep on incubating/hatching eggs.

Maybe that chick should be named after your roommate.