baby chick partially hatched - do I need to help??

[Gonda]

I just checked on my broody hen, sitting on eggs, due to hatch yesterday/today. I lifted her up and saw 4 chicks (out of 8 eggs) and one egg has the shell almost half off around the one side, just the white lining remaining, and there is a little hole, through which I see a beak, and I see movement. Does this little one need help or are things going according to plan?

 

[Crunchie]

Things are going according to plan...let that broody hen (and mother nature) do her thing!

 

[Gonda]

Quote:
thanks for the advice. I checked an hour later and saw the chick struggling against that skin, so I just tore it a little further open, as it already had a hole in it. I came back a few hours later and the chick has hatched. And I counted 6 chicks in total.

One seemed a bit weak - possibly that one little one that struggled for a while. Hopefully it gets its strength back overnight. I wonder why the shell was off, and the white skin or lining still intact? Normally the whole egg cracks open. How would that shell have come off? Does the mom do that?

 

[Mama&thePeeps]

Wonderful! Congratulations on the new babies.

 

[Gonda]

7 hatched!! Out of 8 eggs. I threw one out last week when I candled, as there was a large hole in it. This was a very determined broody. I had to take her off her nest daily the last week to encourage her to eat and take a bathroom break. And two weeks ago, she was off the nest for possibly an afternoon - maybe got off to eat and then another hen went into her nest and laid an additional egg. So that one is still unhatched (that's number 9). I wouldn't be surprised if this mom sits for another week. So, all in all, it's been quite a learning experience (my 2nd time hatching eggs with a broody hen). The eggs went cold that time she was off, and I put her back on when I came home and discovered she was in the wrong nest. After that, I confined her in a separate area. There was one cracked egg that dropped on another egg when I took the mom off the nest once and the egg came up with her. I left that one in and candled it twice, and did see a bit of movement the 2nd time, so I left it with her.

Altogether, 7 chicks is beyond what I expected with some of these issues! But how beautiful!!