My broody messed up her eggs. She was inattentive, didn't always tuck them back in, nest-hopped... I fenced her in, but another hen broke through, kicked her out, laid and left, and broody went to another nest again, leaving her eggs unattended on day 19 for who knows how long (potentially overnight). Luckily we had a heat wave and it was in the 90s, more inside the coop, but still. I took some of her eggs and put them in the incubator (which was already going, with a few more eggs from the same batch).
Today is day 21 (5/23) and chicks have been hatching, despite their mom's fails. However, there's this one egg in the incubator (which I brought inside after they sat uncovered) which is having some trouble. It has been externally pipped for over 30 hours, but isn't zipping. A few hours ago (over 24 hours since external pip) I chipped some shell away to see if it was even still alive. It was! The membrane bled, so I stopped the bleeding, put vaseline on it and put the egg back in the incubator. Right now it has been over 30 hours since external pip, 3-4 hours since I chipped the shell, and the chick is breathing, but not making any zipping attempts. Why is it taking so long for the blood to get absorbed? Would it pip if it isn't ready to hatch? Is it because it got chilled? When should I attempt assisting further? I'm afraid it will dry out if I go to bed and leave it... Humidity is at 75% right now, but was around 80-90+ for most of the day, as chicks were hatching. The eggs are local, not shipped. I wasn't going to assist this time, but I feel like the hen messed it up when it would otherwise have been a healthy chick, so I want to try. Any suggestions are welcome!
Here's what it looks like now. The hole looks bigger than it actually is - most of that is membrane, it's just translucent now because I greased it. The actual hole in the membrane is about 1/3 of the shell-less area.
Today is day 21 (5/23) and chicks have been hatching, despite their mom's fails. However, there's this one egg in the incubator (which I brought inside after they sat uncovered) which is having some trouble. It has been externally pipped for over 30 hours, but isn't zipping. A few hours ago (over 24 hours since external pip) I chipped some shell away to see if it was even still alive. It was! The membrane bled, so I stopped the bleeding, put vaseline on it and put the egg back in the incubator. Right now it has been over 30 hours since external pip, 3-4 hours since I chipped the shell, and the chick is breathing, but not making any zipping attempts. Why is it taking so long for the blood to get absorbed? Would it pip if it isn't ready to hatch? Is it because it got chilled? When should I attempt assisting further? I'm afraid it will dry out if I go to bed and leave it... Humidity is at 75% right now, but was around 80-90+ for most of the day, as chicks were hatching. The eggs are local, not shipped. I wasn't going to assist this time, but I feel like the hen messed it up when it would otherwise have been a healthy chick, so I want to try. Any suggestions are welcome!
Here's what it looks like now. The hole looks bigger than it actually is - most of that is membrane, it's just translucent now because I greased it. The actual hole in the membrane is about 1/3 of the shell-less area.
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