7th egg didnt hatch, but it's still alive

chickhappy

In the Brooder
12 Years
Jul 13, 2007
19
0
22
I got my chicks the old fashioned way, with a hen. When the other 6 hatched, their shells covered up the 7th. They hatched yesterday, and I went in today to check the 7th, and the there was a small hole at his beak, and he was squeaking. I tried putting it back under mamma, but she's not having it. What should I do now???
 
I'd help him hatch. You'll have to go slow, to make sure you don't burst a blood vessel. There are detailed instructions somewhere in here on helping a hatch (not sure where--try a search on the forums or maybe someone will post the link--), but the basics are that you take it out, use a pair of tweezers and gently but firmly start breaking a line around the cap the way the baby would do, always pressing from the inside of the shell (because the pressure on the inside of the shell is what tells the membrane to stop circulating blood to that part of the membrane). If you see bright red blood, stop and put it somewhere good and warm (like under a brood lamp) for 15-20 minutes. Small amounts of dark red liquid are normal. When you are done, you can let it pop itself out of the shell. Put it under a brood lamp to keep it good and warm, then pop it under the momma hen at night.

Good luck!
 
thank you very much, that helps tremendously! I did start that process, and tried to slide it under mom, but she'll have no part of it. After an hour or more, he still hadn't made any more process, so I started peeling off more shell. I hope all goes well, and if you find that post for directions, that would be great. Wonder if I can find a site that has pictures too.

Thanks again
 

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