Advice needed on whether to help chick ~

[GaNewChick]

Recently my hen was chased off of her nest. I brought the remaining nine in and put them in the incubator ~ guessing on which day it was, give or take 2 or 3.

I had 3 hatch on Thursday. Friday, my husband was called to go out of town for a quick trip to Cherokee, NC so I decided to ride with him. I do not have any neighbors who are familiar with an incubator. I decided to candle the remaining 6 (one was a dud). I saw one with movement, the other 4 I wasn't sure about. I placed them back in the incubator and gave my neighbor a crash course on how much water to add depending on the humidity that night and the following morning before she left for work.

On Saturday morning (6:30 am) she said it read 35% and added the water. When I got home at 4:00 pm it read 29% with a surprise. One of the eggs I couldn't tell had hatched, the one with movement was still sitting. It has rocked since yesterday....my question is:

When I pulled it out to candle (deciding whether to pull the plug or hope for the best depending on what I saw) did I confuse it's positioning? Is it still trying to position, or since I really don't know what day I am on, should I give it some more time or help it get started? Could it be pipping on the bottom side since I probably didn't place it back in like I took it out?

Sorry for the long post, but I want y'all to have enough details to make it easier for advice.

Thanks!

 

[speckledhen]

If you dont know what day you're on (any ideas at all?), you could kill the chick if it's not ready to hatch. If it's laying on its side, I doubt you confused it by taking it out then putting it back. They pip on the small end sometimes and sometimes pip where you cannot see it from the bator window.

 

[GaNewChick]

Thanks!

I am guessing around day 23 to 24. She originally was on a shared nest of 24 eggs, (these guys/gals are very shy of the human touch) they free range and roost in trees at night. I'm guessing that since she couldn't cover all 24 at one time, that maybe some are behind a few days as she turned them and the difference in her sitting position when she got off the nest and got back on.

Yes, it is laying on it's side.

So ~ the answer would be to wait a day or two more?

 

[FluffyColor]

I wouldn't help that chick.I nearly killed my baby BR that way.Her little beak was moving around.I asked Mrs.Matthews (a teacher in my shool that had been helping me with the hatch)to handhatch her,as I didn't know how.But Blackie hadn't absorbed the yolk.Yours might be absorbing the yolk.Just wait!

P.S.Your temp might be a little too cool.