I have a duplicate thread going, so sorry if you're seeing this twice.
I have a first time broody hatching a chick that pipped normally, but is not zipping normally and is missing a lot of shell. The egg may or may not have been stepped on by a hen. It's cracked all around and missing maybe 30% of the shell. The chick is peeping and wriggling inside. The membrane looked opaque and white and felt dry. I wet it down with qtips for the second photo, then placed it back in the nest.
I know the shell was intact with just a pip at 11:30 or so, and it's 3:30 now, so the chick has been like this for at most 3 or 4 hours. I think if it had zipped normally it would still be working, but it's hard to say. It could have pipped any time yesterday or this morning. Will this chick necessarily need help hatching? At what point would you consider assisting?
I have a first time broody hatching a chick that pipped normally, but is not zipping normally and is missing a lot of shell. The egg may or may not have been stepped on by a hen. It's cracked all around and missing maybe 30% of the shell. The chick is peeping and wriggling inside. The membrane looked opaque and white and felt dry. I wet it down with qtips for the second photo, then placed it back in the nest.
I know the shell was intact with just a pip at 11:30 or so, and it's 3:30 now, so the chick has been like this for at most 3 or 4 hours. I think if it had zipped normally it would still be working, but it's hard to say. It could have pipped any time yesterday or this morning. Will this chick necessarily need help hatching? At what point would you consider assisting?
