Urgent: 24 hr external pip on pointy end, no zipping

[buttersbrood]

If the membrane, when moist, is translucent and the veins are very slight, that’s a good sign to progress.

Veins are slight

 

[Lillith37]

Teent tiny bit of blood. Should I stop?

Try to remove the shell up towards the blunt end of the egg where the air sac is located.

 

[buttersbrood]

I've hit some blood. Just a little. But I think I'll wait for a few hours now, just to be safe

 

[Lillith37]

I've hit some blood. Just a little. But I think I'll wait for a few hours now, just to be safe

This is the picture from the article I linked. You can see how the shell has been removed around the air sac. In this picture the veins are still very visible so it needed more time.

I’ve also attached a picture of my egg that I helped hatch (tattooed fingers). I did the same thing trying to remove the top of the shell around the air sac. The membrane was much more translucent in my egg and veins very small. When I helped my chick hatch, there was a tiny bit of blood at times. That’s why it’s better to roll back the membrane rather than tear it if possible.

 

[buttersbrood]

This is great, thank you! It's hard to peel away the top as the pip is up the top. I might leave for a little. I've sort of zipped it 2/3 so it should be able to push itself out if it's ready? The chick itself is very dry, not slimy at all....?

 

[buttersbrood]

I mean the bottom as pip is near top ie pointy end.

Those photos are a great refe

 

[buttersbrood]

Reference

 

[Lillith37]

I mean the bottom as pip is near top ie pointy end.

The chick is malpositioned and may need help fully hatching if it has shrink wrapped. They should internally pip at the air sac and then externally pip from there. The air sac is located at the rounded end of the egg. If they pip in the wrong spot it means they need more yolk-absorbing time.

Look at the article under the heading “Facing Away From Air Cell”.

The author says that the chick should be able to hatch by itself from this position, but if it is shrink wrapped it won’t be able to.
They recommend opening the shell at the air sac end to determine whether there are still veins and whether the chick has shrink wrapped. You can use a small screw to poke a hole over the air sac and then chip away at the shell from there.

There is a section in the article titled “Shrink wrapping” as well that is helpful.

 

[getaclue]

As long as the chick can breathe, you can leave it a bit longer, so the veins in the membrane shrink on down, and there is no bleeding. Let the chick rest some, since it's probably been working hard to get out of the shrink wrap, but can't.

It's not totally uncommon for chicks to be malpositioned, but most tend to survive, even if they need help.

Many incubators are not completely uniform in temperature everywhere inside. There will be spots that may be slightly cooler, or slightly warmer. While it's important to turn the eggs, it's also important to shift their position around inside the incubator too. This helps counter balance the slight variations in temp. When I first started incubating, I discovered the eggs in a slight cool spot, took a bit longer, while the ones in the hotter spots would pop out a bit on the early side.

 

[buttersbrood]

Thanks everyone! I zipped 2/3 of the egg, then left it as I encountered a little bit of blood. I put it back under the hen. I left it for 2 hours to see if it could manage itself when it was ready. The chick has just hatched! A sweet little yellow .

I'm so relieved. Looks healthy though tired as expected. I think the membrane was a little dry around the pip hole as it pipped externally and never internally and needed more time to start zipping. I'm not sure it would have been able to help itself as the membrane was very tough (dry) around the pip. Happy I could lend a hand

Thanks so much for your help and guidance. It's huge in a situation like this!
I'll post a photo once it's had a rest!