We have out first pip! #6, a Dark India Cornish Rock bantam egg has pipped! I haven't started the cam yet since it can be hours until the next step--unzipping. Unzipping is where the chick, starting at the pip hole, will peck around the shell in a straight line, then eventually kick free and hatch. This can also take hours. As soon as the chick starts to unzip, I will start the cam.
The chicks pip in order to get fresh air, and to start the draw-down process. Draw-down is where the blood in the veins lining the eggshell drain and shrink as the chick draws it's blood, then the remainder of the yolk, up into it's body in preparation for hatching. After that, the chick will start to unzip.
Hatching is VERY strenous for the chicks...and it doesn't do ME any good, either. It's nerve-wracking.
It figures that it's a banty egg that has started early, as expected. Welp, no sleep for me...
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