Part 4 - Hatching
The Final Stage
After weeks of careful development, the embryo enters the most demanding stage of its life.
The transition from breathing through the eggshell to breathing with its lungs is a remarkable sequence of precisely timed events. During these final days, the embryo repositions itself, absorbs the remaining nutrients from the egg, enlarges the air-cell, establishes pulmonary breathing and finally escapes from the shell.
Many hatch failures occur during this period, but the cause often lies much earlier in incubation. Understanding the normal hatching sequence allows breeders to distinguish between a chick that simply needs more time and one that genuinely requires assistance.
This section explains what normally happens during the hatch, what can go wrong, and how to recognise the difference.
Topics in this section
The Hatching Sequence
Follow the remarkable journey from the final days of incubation through internal pip, external pip, zip and emergence. Understanding the normal sequence makes it much easier to recognise when something has gone wrong.
➡ Read: The Hatching Sequence
Internal Pip
The first pip is made inside the egg, not through the shell. Learn why the air-cell is essential to survival, what happens when the embryo first begins breathing air, and why this stage is one of the two critical bottlenecks of incubation.
➡ Read: Internal Pip
External Pip
The second pip marks the embryo's first contact with the outside world. Learn why it occurs where it does, what determines a normal breakout, and what an unusually positioned pip can tell us.
➡ Read: External Pip
Drawdown
As hatching approaches, the membrane settles around the embryo in a process known as drawdown. Learn why this is a normal and essential part of development, and why it is often mistaken for a problem.
➡ Read: Drawdown
Shrinkwrapping
One of the most misunderstood topics in incubation. Learn what really causes membranes to dry, why opening the incubator at the wrong time increases the risk, and the practical steps that help prevent adhesions.
➡ Read: Shrinkwrapping
When to Assist a Hatchling
Knowing when not to intervene is often just as important as knowing when to help. Learn the few situations where assistance may be beneficial, and why patience is usually the hatchling's greatest ally.
➡ Read: When to Assist a Hatchling
Recommended reading for first-time incubators
If this is your first hatch, we recommend reading these chapters in the following order:
- The Hatching Sequence
- Internal Pip
- External Pip
- Drawdown
- Shrinkwrapping
- When to Assist a Hatchling
By the end of this section you will understand the remarkable transition from embryo to hatchling, and why successful hatching depends on allowing natural processes to proceed whenever possible.
Ready to continue?
Even under ideal conditions, not every hatch goes according to plan. The next section takes a systematic approach to diagnosing incubation problems, helping you work backwards from what you observe to understand what may have caused it.
Continue to → Part 5 – Troubleshooting
The Greatlander Incubation Guide
Understanding the hatch before attempting to assist it.
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