Is my cider ready?

Hi Guys,
Sorry to be pain i am new to brewing and i know very little about it.

i recently bought a cider kit from Wilkinson's (Brew Buddy) i followed the instructions and it said the fermenting process would take about 7 days and today is the eighth day. i have took an hydrometer reading yesterday and it was 1000, is this ready for barrelling?

In the instructions the correct reading should be 988 which is not marked on the hydrometer. The hydrometer reads from the top 0.900, 1000, 1010 and so on. the hydrometer also has colours on it from the top blue, yellow and red. 1000 is in the yellow bit. ( Hydrometer also from Wilkinson's). the top of the fermenting bucket is bulging if this helps.

I have had conflicting messages about the final reading so that's why i am unsure.i have also hear of barrels/bottles exploding if barrelled to early and i cant bare the thought of wasting all that cider lol

Any Ideas?

I've never used a cider kit, but I prime & bottle cider @ 1.000 often; never had any problems. Your "barrel" might have different specs for pressure though. I'd say give it another day & take another hydrometer reading, just to be on the safe side, then proceed. If it's not done yet, it's so close that it's almost negligible. Regards, GF.

When putting it in a barrel you can put an airlock on a stopper over the bung hole to release pressure. As far as worrying about bottle bombs, if it's 1.000 you're good to go. As gratus mentioned as well, giving it a couple of days just to be sure, isn't going to hurt anything. If you're concerned, I would do just that. Cider making is a hobby of patience. Best of luck!

Wow, 7 days. Cider is something that is better if aged, and allowed a month or longer before bottling. It makes me suspicious of this kit.