Raising chickens starts with a successful hatch. As an egg incubates, excitement builds for the arrival of new chicks. But sometimes, a chick may get “stuck” during the hatching process and need a little help. Knowing when to intervene can mean the difference between life and death for a chick. This guide will cover when and how to assist a chick in hatching.
How Chicks Normally Hatch
Under natural conditions, a broody hen meticulously turns her eggs, regulates temperature and humidity, and even assists chicks during hatching In an artificial incubator, conditions aren’t always ideal which can cause problems.
Chicks go through several stages during a normal hatch
- Days 1-17: The chick develops inside the egg
- Day 18: The chick internally pips by breaking through the inner membrane with its egg tooth
- Day 19-20: The chick externally pips by cracking through the eggshell and starts the process of zipping around the shell
- Day 21: The chick fully emerges from the shell
From initial pip to hatch can take 12-24 hours as the chick rests between efforts, rotates, and absorbs its yolk sac.
When to Consider Intervention
It’s generally recommended to allow a pipped chick at least 24 hours from initial pip before assisting. However, certain signs may point to a chick needing help sooner:
- No progress 12-18 hours after pipping
- Signs of respiratory distress like gaping or whistling after pip
- Shrink wrapped membranes limiting movement
- Sticky chick unable to rotate due to excess fluids
Conversely, some issues indicate a chick that likely won’t survive even with assistance
- Physical deformities inhibiting hatch
- Extremely underdeveloped chick
Use your best judgement before intervening with a weak chick.
How to Assist a Chick Hatching
If a chick meets criteria for needing help, here are tips for safely assisting:
- Sterilize hands and tools to prevent infection
- Maintain high humidity around 65-70% during the process
- Carefully widen the existing pip hole over the air cell
- Apply vegetable oil to the exposed membranes if they are dry
- Look for receding blood vessels and yolk absorption
- Gently peel membranes away once the chick is ready
- Help free the head and body if needed
Avoid tearing the membranes, causing bleeding, or pulling too early. Go slowly and give the chick time to absorb its yolk before removing it completely.
Providing Aftercare
Chicks that hatch with assistance are often weaker and may need special care:
- Dry the chick well and monitor body temperature
- Provide immediate access to food and water
- Watch for issues with legs, feet, wings, or neck
- Keep chick separate if showing signs of sickness
- Be prepared for potential special needs or reduced viability
Even with the best efforts, assisted chicks may struggle to thrive. But the rewards of a successful assist make the effort worthwhile.
Determining when a chick needs hatching help takes patience and care. Allow normal hatching to proceed if possible. But if intervention becomes necessary, sterilize tools, maintain humidity, and work slowly. With proper technique and aftercare, an assisted hatch can still result in a healthy chick. The miracle of a new life emerging is worth the effort.
Notes to Consider Before Helping:
- Hereditary- Helping a chick out of its shell can often lead to the issue becoming hereditary, with future generations of offspring from that bird also needing help hatching. Chicks that you plan on using for breeding you shouldn’t help hatch.
- Weak Legs & Muscles- Hatching and breaking free of the shell is nature’s way of strengthening a chick for life. When you help a chick hatch, it doesn’t have the opportunity to strengthen its muscles and often results in a weak hatchling.
- Leg & Neck Problems- Because the muscles aren’t strengthened through the process of hatching, help-out hatchlings usually have leg and neck issues like crooked toes, spraddled legs, or a twisted neck. The chick will not be able to stand correctly or have difficulty retaining its balance.
- Soft Abdomen- A chick’s abdomen is closing and absorbing the yolk sac up until minutes within of hatching. When you help a chick hatch, you run the risk of severing blood vessels or helping the chick out before its abdomen has fully closed and healed, resulting in blood loss or soft abdomen issues.
- Bleeding- Due to the abdomen not being fully enclosed and blood vessels not being completely blocked off, helping a chick hatch may result in excess bleeding which can injure or kill the chick.
- Development & Quality of Life- Hatchlings that have been helped out of the shell will usually have life-long issues either from weak muscles or lack of development. They may end up being a special needs chicken.
Should I Help a Chick Hatch?
So, should you even consider helping a chick hatch out of its egg? That’s really up to you. When it comes to whether or not you should help a chick hatch, I think that is a personal decision you have to make based on your circumstances and morals. In some rare instances, the chick simply needs a minuscule amount of help to finish hatching and still develop into a strong, healthy individual.
However, in most instances, chicks who need help hatching will not be the healthiest individuals. When it comes to deciding whether you should help a chick hatch, consider these two stand points:
- Natural Selection– nature governs by survival of the strongest, so a chick who can’t hatch by itself is not meant to hatch at all
- Every Chick Deserves a Chance- as humans, we may feel compelled to help a chick hatch because every life deserves a chance at living, even if helping a chick hatch results in a special needs chicken
Natural selection sounds harsh (and it is), but at the same time, not every chick is meant to live, so there is definitely a balance between the two stand points. Here are some more notes to consider when deciding if you should help a chick hatch or not.
Helping Eggs Hatch | How To Save the Chick
FAQ
How long should I wait to help a chick hatch?
When to intervene with chicken hatching?
Some people say we should at least give the chick 24 hours after the shell first cracks before assisting because doing so could harm the poult, resulting in serious deformity or death.
When to help a baby chick out of its shell?
“You should only try to help a chick hatch if it’s partially zipped the shell, but hasn’t advanced at all in the past 24 hours, assuming the chick is at term. It can take a while for chicks to fully zip, but in my experience, if it started, but has gotten stalled, it might be malpresented.”
How do you know when to help an egg hatch?
In these cases, the egg has pipped, but it isn’t followed by a zip. Normally this can take hours, often twelve or more, The peep may rest or sleep as it is working to hatch. But if this has gone on for hours and hours and the peep is getting weaker, the cries are fading, we might step in.