Accidentally culled live eggs

[CowgirlJules]

I had 24 Blue Laced Red and Silver Laced Wyandotte eggs in the incubator. Last night was lockdown, and for that, I move them over to a Little Giant for hatching. I was candling as I went, and set aside three that seemed to be quitters.

My son and I like to open the quitters and see what stage they failed in. So I carefully chipped a hole in the big end of the first one, only to discover that the chick was still alive. I didn't damage the membrane, but it definitely moved when I touched it. I didn't know what else to do, so we put a bit of scotch tape over the end of the egg and popped all three of them back into the hatcher. I sort of doubt that it has a chance, but maybe it does?

Has anyone else done this bonehead move and successfully got a live chick out of it?

 

[key west chick]

It might actually have a pretty good chance if the membrane didnt break. You might want to watch and make sure it doesnt dry out and make it to tough to pip through.

 

[TriciaHowe]

I agree. It's far enough along that it should probably be okay. Just don't mess with it much and see what happens.

 

[GreenGoddess]

For these eggs, I would just keep the humidity up and keep your fingers crossed...

I have avoided this on many instances during lockdown... I've learned to hold the egg with one hand and place the flashlight on top of the egg.. With one finger (the hand that's holding the egg) I tap on the shell... If they are alive, they will typically move... At the same time, if they do not move, I put it to the side, do a few more eggs and then check it again and do the same thing... If it moves, I put it back in the bator and candle a few more.. If it down not move, I put it back to the side and candle it when I am done candling the rest... I check them 3 times, doing the same thing each time to make sure.. If after 3 times it still des not move, most likely it's a quitter and you can cull it...

Goddess

 

[adrian]

If I were you I'd try to seal the hole as well as you can, because massive humidity loss can occur with a hole like that. Get some kind of paper tape, not the clear kind, and tape over the hole. Then melt wax over the tape to seal. Bump your humidity minimally and keep an eye on it. With a good seal it shouldn't lose too much humidity if any at all. If the hole is very small it probably won't affect hatching. If it is larger, keep an eye on the chick when it starts to hatch because a seal like this could make it difficult for the chick to pip. You might have to assist the pipping.

 

[hoppy]

for future reference as I'm sure this is too late.
2 things to do,if you have a used egg shell that will cover the hole, use it and glue it with white glue
then place in a ziplock plastic baggie with wet cotton balls to increase the humidity. place back in hatcher. I have had success doing this when they were close to hatching.

 

[pete55]

We've hatched lots of chicks with the air cell part of the shell removed. Hoppy is absolutely correct. Another trick is to get an infertile egg and cut the top off. Soaking in hot water makes the shell pliable. Simply use the cleaned cap to go over the egg with the chick in it. Or use surgical tape to seal the hole. We use a product called Transpore and this provides a viewing window. The membrane does dry and shrink onto the chick but we wet it every few hours using boiled water thats cooled and apply with a Q-tip

Picture shows a baby macaw we hatched that was breech, more difficult but we got there in the end