hi everyone! big question for ya.

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Midnyte

Midnyte

In the Brooder
Apr 19, 2015
21
2
26
Prescott Valley AZ
Ok so this is kind of our 1st time hatching a bunch of eggs from our own chickens. We have one hen that goes broody every year so last year we had a test run to see if it was possible. We had 1 successful hatch out of 6 eggs. Ironically it turned into a rooster. So this year we're trying again with the broody hen and with an incubator. I had 6 eggs under the broody that are ready to hatch tomorrow but when I went out to feed the chickens today I heard chirping from an egg. The problem though came when I found the egg was cracked and the membrane broken. The chick is alive but there is, like I said above, still membrane and veins. So my big question is, is the chick going to be ok even though it was obviously not quite ready to hatch?
 
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Hi, welcome to BYC!

If it isn't full developed, it probably won't survive, like if it was day 18 or 16 of development. Can you tell if it looked due to hatch? Cause if tomorrow's day 21, then there's a likely chance of survival.
 
Hello :frow and Welcome To BYC! You may want to post in the incubating and hatching eggs forum https://www.backyardchickens.com/f/5/incubating-hatching-eggs Was the egg crushed or something? There will be membrane and maybe even veins as the chick starts to hatch and zip, it usually does take awhile for the whole process so usually the veins will be reduced by the time the chick is finished and getting out, sometimes they do pip through a vein which can be a problem. If day 21 is tomorrow it is within normal range for hatching if all goes well.
 
Do you have a brooder set up, so "early bird," can rest up, be warm and not trampled by others. He may need extra time to absorb the egg sac, etc. before he is ready to rejoin his mama and any others that hatch. Hope he will do well.
 
Thank you for your replies! Yes tomorrow is day 21 and I think one of the other chickens accidentally cracked it when trying to lay an egg in the nest while the broody was eating. I lost another egg early on because of this. We currently have the little one in a cat carrier with a heating lamp directed on it.
 
Welcome to BYC!
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