This post may contain affiliate links.
A pipped egg is one where a baby chick has started to break through the shell. The process begins when the chick pecks through the inner membrane and then creates small cracks in the eggshell.
Within about 24 hours of starting, the chick gradually forms larger cracks and continues pecking until bits of the shell begin to fall away. It’s a lot of effort for the tiny chick, but it’s the essential first step to hatching and emerging from the egg.
Here’s a bit more on what it means to have a “pipped egg”.
How long does an egg take to hatch after pipping?
Pipping can take a few hours before the chick finally manages to push its way through. After three to four hours, there will likely be some very obvious cracks and holes in the shell.
Large shells may start coming off more quickly now. It can take up to a full day, twenty-four hours, before the chick manages to finally peck and push his way out of the shell completely and is able to move around the outside world for the first time.
Don’t panic if it seems your new chick is taking a long time to emerge from the shell. He will get there eventually. If there is pipping, the chick has managed to get through the embryo enough that he won’t get stuck. Make sure you leave him to make his own way out.
Only if it has been well over 24 hours should you even think about giving him a helping hand.
How do you know if an unhatched egg is alive?
There is a technique called candling you can use during the incubation process to check how well an egg is doing, whether it is alive or rotten. What you should do is pick up the egg and take it to a dark room. Once in the darkroom, shine a flashlight directly through the egg.
The eggshell is not completely opaque, so the direct light from the torch will allow you to see directly into the egg. First, you should check if the egg is rotten. This will be very obvious. If you can see veins running through the egg, that means the egg is still alive.
You should put it back in the incubator or give it back to the mother hen immediately so it can stay warm. This process is called candling because it used to be done by farmers with a candle as the source of light rather than a modern-day torch.
What happens if eggs don’t hatch in 21 days?
Unfortunately, not all eggs hatch. Some don’t hatch because they went rotten, some were never fertile in the first place, and some need a little help. If 21 days have passed and your eggs haven’t hatched, they haven’t even started piping, it’s time for some investigative work.
First, gently crack the top of the egg off with a sharp knife. Make sure you take it from the very top and not too deep, or you may disturb the embryo inside. Second, you want to look inside and see what’s going on.
Always do this outside, as if one is rotten. You don’t want that smell inside your home. There are really only four scenarios you will encounter.
If the egg is rotten
The first and more likely scenario is that the eggs have gone rotten. You may have missed this when you were candling, or maybe you chose not to candle at all. This egg should be thrown away and kept away from the other chicks and the mother hen if you have one.
Sometimes eggs just go bad, it is no one’s fault it’s just a fact of life.
If the egg is unfertilized
The second most likely scenario is that the egg just wasn’t fertilized. This is easy to tell because there will be no embryos at all, even partially developed ones.
Not all eggs get fertilized. These eggs should also be thrown away before they start to rot.
What happens if the chick dies?
Sometimes, the chick stops developing and dies. This can be caused by drastic changes in temperature or a very thick embryo sack. When the sack is too thick, the chicks try to peck their way out but are unable to. They will sadly die if this happens.
This egg, too, must be thrown out before it begins rotting.
What happens if the chick can’t break through?
Very occasionally, the chick is unable to peck through the embryo sack but is still alive in the egg. If this is the case, you must gently cut open the embryo to get the chick out before it dies.
When deciding whether to do this, you need to make sure the chick is actually alive and ready to come out. The chick will move around, so it shouldn’t be too hard to tell. If he is alive, you can help him out of this embryo, and he will be fine. If he is not yet ready, you will have to leave him a little bit longer in an incubator.
Taking the chick out of the embryo too early is going to end up killing him, so make sure you leave him to develop fully.
Other Ideas You Might Like
- 14 Best Chicken Breeds That Consistently Lay Great Eggs
- How to Raise Meat Chickens
- How to Choose a Heritage Chicken Breed for the Homestead
The birth of your new chicks is a really special moment; it’s natural to worry that they are doing okay and whether you are making the right decisions. It just shows that you care. If you want to check up on your eggs regularly to get out ahead of any potential problems, the most important thing to do is candling.
By candling the eggs every 7 days, you can monitor their progress and remove any problem eggs before they go rotten.
Patience during the hatching process is important. Ninety percent of the time, the chicks are capable of hatching themselves. It is only the 1 percent that might need a little helping hand from you.
If you use this information here to help you, you should have an easy time caring for your new chicks on their journey to being born.
