What is a Pip?

A pip is when the being inside the egg breaks through to the outer surface of the egg. We have our first pip tonight! It is a tiny little whole right now so I tried to make it clear in the photo. The photo is rather bad because the incubator is closed and needs to remain as such to keep the humidity up so the eggs can hatch.

 How long will it take the egg to hatch?

It is a guessing game, it could be an hour, it could a day. Many people say that once hatching starts it takes about 30 hours for all the eggs to pip and hatch. Sometimes though it takes a few days, specially considering we have different kinds of chickens in these eggs.

Just because this egg was first to Pip does not mean it will be first to hatch. Sadly, it might not even make it. These last says seem to be the most fragile days for them.

The children went to bed tonight all very excited about this pip and they really hope to wake up to a cute little chick wobbling about in the incubator come morning! Maybe! With our duck eggs, the first pip felt like it took forever, so we will see!