Yesterday there were four eggs pipping; today there are 6 (out of 7). Although I know it takes up to 2 days for goslings to break out of their shells, it is still nerve-wracking watching them struggle so long.
In general, it is a bad idea to help birds out of their shells. If not done carefully, one could tear at their delicate layer of fur stuck to the shell, and cause bleeding. Also, there's a correlation between weak hatchings and weak adulthood.
Hatchlings can be heard chirping in their shells even before they break the shell. This is because there is a tiny bladder of air at the big end of the shell, separated by the membrane in which they are encased. So, once they break through this membrane, they get an added boost of oxygen, and start chirping. Then they make a hole in the shell using a special "tooth" at the tip of their beaks. (This tooth falls off after about 2 days.) While all this is going on, the mother is there making mother noises back at the chirping goslings. Perhaps it is to help encourage them to break free. So, I am making mother goose noises at them; and they seem to respond to this with stronger chirping.
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