OVERDUE BCM EGG

[KEarthman]

We have one very dark BCM egg left to hatch that is 38 hours past due. Dry incubation in Texas. Lockdown 65%.The others have hatched. We heard it peeping yesterday, so it internally pipped. Then heard nothing since. We were fixing to shut the incubator down when we heard it peeping again, but absolutely no signs of external pip. Leave her alone and keep her going? How long can they be internally pipped without the external? Thanks!

 

[nuthatched]

Try creating a safety hole in the air cell, see if you can see it moving.

 

[KEarthman]

Try creating a safety hole in the air cell, see if you can see it moving.

Any tricks or tips? Tools?I'm scared I'll break it.

 

[HollowOfWisps]

Leave it alone especially if this is one of your first couple tries at incubating. Day 21 is an estimate, but not set in stone several different factors play a role in when an egg hatches. Simply sitting on the cooler side of the incubator can delay a hatch by a couple to days.

 

[Yardmom]

There is an article on assisted hatching. Can you see enough when candling to tell if it pipped into the air cell? Make a very small hole with a screw or nail in the air cell. Then wait a few hours to see if it makes progress on its own. If not you peel a bit of shell. Watch to see if the chick is opening and closing its mouth. If it is, give it time to absorb the yolk before assisting more.