Absorption taking too long?

[K0k0shka]

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.

 

[sourland]

At this point it still looks too early to help to me.

 

[K0k0shka]

At this point it still looks too early to help to me.

It’s been 10+ hours since I chipped the shell, and it’s still alive, but still not zipping Should I chip some more? Or potentially peel it out if it doesn’t bleed? I’m really worried about it drying out…

 

[K0k0shka]

12 hours after I chipped the shell, and about 40 hours after external pip, the chick was still alive but not making any progress at all, so I decided to pull it out. The membrane started bleeding a little again, but also, parts of it were getting papery and stuck to the chick, so it was a balance between letting it stay and absorb, and risking it getting glued in place. 40 hours though!!! Why would it not be done absorbing the blood yet?? As I started peeling the shell back, the chick started chirping and moving a lot, but even after half of the shell was gone, it still couldn't unfold itself without help. It seemed very weak. It wasn't malpositioned, the beak was in the right place. There was no yolk left, thank goodness, but still some fresh veins with blood in them. I pulled the whole chick out, but left the umbilical cord attached, and put the chick back in the incubator with the shell and the remaining veins that are still attached to it, so it would hopefully finish up and not bleed out. It's breathing and moving its mouth, but not trying to sit up or anything like newly hatched chicks usually do. My experience with assisted chicks has been very disappointing - my 3 assisted chicks from last year have all died within their first year - but those eggs were shipped, so I figured they must have had issues. This one was not. Plus, its mama messed up, so I guess I was just trying to make up for that, and give it a chance in case it was otherwise a healthy chick with just some bad luck. Most of the chicks from this batch were meant to be eaten anyway, so I'll just mark this one and add it to the meat group, and I'll keep a couple from the ones that hatched normally.

What do you guys think about this case though? Why is it taking so long to absorb?

 

[BelovedBirds]

12 hours after I chipped the shell, and about 40 hours after external pip, the chick was still alive but not making any progress at all, so I decided to pull it out. The membrane started bleeding a little again, but also, parts of it were getting papery and stuck to the chick, so it was a balance between letting it stay and absorb, and risking it getting glued in place. 40 hours though!!! Why would it not be done absorbing the blood yet?? As I started peeling the shell back, the chick started chirping and moving a lot, but even after half of the shell was gone, it still couldn't unfold itself without help. It seemed very weak. It wasn't malpositioned, the beak was in the right place. There was no yolk left, thank goodness, but still some fresh veins with blood in them. I pulled the whole chick out, but left the umbilical cord attached, and put the chick back in the incubator with the shell and the remaining veins that are still attached to it, so it would hopefully finish up and not bleed out. It's breathing and moving its mouth, but not trying to sit up or anything like newly hatched chicks usually do. My experience with assisted chicks has been very disappointing - my 3 assisted chicks from last year have all died within their first year - but those eggs were shipped, so I figured they must have had issues. This one was not. Plus, its mama messed up, so I guess I was just trying to make up for that, and give it a chance in case it was otherwise a healthy chick with just some bad luck. Most of the chicks from this batch were meant to be eaten anyway, so I'll just mark this one and add it to the meat group, and I'll keep a couple from the ones that hatched normally.

What do you guys think about this case though? Why is it taking so long to absorb?

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it doesnt matter how much time has passed, the chick is not ready, and has clearly already lost plenty of blood- you must be patient with them.
Read this before assisting. Assisted hatching article
Putting the chick in the meat group purely because of a not so good broody and your failed assisted hatching attempt seems quite harsh to me. The chick could be fine once she absorbs.

 

[K0k0shka]

it doesnt matter how much time has passed, the chick is not ready, and has clearly already lost plenty of blood- you must be patient with them.
Read this before assisting. Assisted hatching article
Putting the chick in the meat group purely because of a not so good broody and your failed assisted hatching attempt seems quite harsh to me. The chick could be fine once she absorbs.

Yes, I have read that assisting article (and others) and agree that the chick isn't ready, but like I said, after so long, there's a balance to be struck between letting it sit, and risking it getting shrink-wrapped. I erred on the side of letting it sit, but 40 hours seems a bit much. Even the assisted articles say if it's been 36 hours, then that's a sign of trouble and you may need to assist. Sit on your hands before that, but at some point, the chick may need help. My question and uncertainty was, when is that time...

This entire batch of chicks were meant to be for meat. I only agreed to keep 1 or 2 because my kids kept pestering me So putting this one in the meat group isn't particularly harsh, that was its original purpose anyway. Some people raise chickens for meat, nothing wrong or harsh about that. So I'm not torn up about having to eat this one. I just want to know what happened, out of curiosity, and because I want to understand the process better.

 

[BelovedBirds]

Yes, I have read that assisting article (and others) and agree that the chick isn't ready, but like I said, after so long, there's a balance to be struck between letting it sit, and risking it getting shrink-wrapped. I erred on the side of letting it sit, but 40 hours seems a bit much. Even the assisted articles say if it's been 36 hours, then that's a sign of trouble and you may need to assist. Sit on your hands before that, but at some point, the chick may need help. My question and uncertainty was, when is that time...

This entire batch of chicks were meant to be for meat. I only agreed to keep 1 or 2 because my kids kept pestering me So putting this one in the meat group isn't particularly harsh, that was its original purpose anyway. Some people raise chickens for meat, nothing wrong or harsh about that. So I'm not torn up about having to eat this one. I just want to know what happened, out of curiosity, and because I want to understand the process better.

I'm not sure what caused it, but I would definitely never assist while there are that many blood vessels.

 

[BelovedBirds]

Yes, I have read that assisting article (and others) and agree that the chick isn't ready, but like I said, after so long, there's a balance to be struck between letting it sit, and risking it getting shrink-wrapped. I erred on the side of letting it sit, but 40 hours seems a bit much. Even the assisted articles say if it's been 36 hours, then that's a sign of trouble and you may need to assist. Sit on your hands before that, but at some point, the chick may need help. My question and uncertainty was, when is that time...

This entire batch of chicks were meant to be for meat. I only agreed to keep 1 or 2 because my kids kept pestering me So putting this one in the meat group isn't particularly harsh, that was its original purpose anyway. Some people raise chickens for meat, nothing wrong or harsh about that. So I'm not torn up about having to eat this one. I just want to know what happened, out of curiosity, and because I want to understand the process better.

as for the situation with keeping for meat, I assumed you were holding to the slightly old fashioned thought of "well, this one is clearly weak because it needed help, so is a cull one"
I apologise that I misjudged the situation

 

[K0k0shka]

I'm not sure what caused it, but I would definitely never assist while there are that many blood vessels.

I definitely wasn't comfortable assisting with all those blood vessels either. That's why I waited 40 hours, and in the end only assisted because I was afraid it would glue itself. That's what happened with all 3 of my assists last year. I waited too long, and the membrane got so stuck to them that I had a really hard time peeling it off. They all came out alive, but didn't live long (4 days, the other one 7 months, and the third one 1 year). They were so stuck that there's no way they were going to get out on their own if I had just waited... So it was a tough call

 

[K0k0shka]

as for the situation with keeping for meat, I assumed you were holding to the slightly old fashioned thought of "well, this one is clearly weak because it needed help, so is a cull one"
I apologise that I misjudged the situation

Well, it's a matter of personal opinion whether the weak ones should be helped. It's controversial, and I can see logic on either side, so I'm not going to judge either way. I'm choosing to help this one, but when the time comes to pick who stays and who gets eaten, it will be survival of the fittest, and this one has already failed the test. I will make sure it has a good life up until that point, but that's all I can promise.