Leihamarie
Songster
I just wanted to share this happy ending for anyone who breaks an egg during incubation. I had 4 eggs under my broody, and 5 in an incubator for back-up. On day 19, I brought in the eggs from under my broody for candling since I had forgotten to do it on day 18. While candling, my little Blue Andalusian (spoiled baby) flew up to the counter and knocked one of the eggs off the kitchen counter. It fell THREE feet onto hard tile and broke... like... REALLY broke. The only saving grace is that by some miracle, it wasn't oozing. I quickly wrapped it in a warm, wet paper towel, stuck it in the incubator and got on BYC to see what I could do to save it. It was TWO DAYS away from hatch!!!! I read about candle wax to seal it up and tried that. It looked really bad
The wax had to be thick to seal the missing pieces of shell and protect the membrane. I was really worried about the damage the fall might have done.
Well... yesterday (hatch day) a bit late in the game, I gently peeled off the wax, it pipped, and I wrapped it back up in a moist washcloth (leaving a breathing hole where its beak was) so that when it was ready it could bust outta the shell.
A short time later it started to really move but couldn't quite shake the membrane off so I helped a little and it unfurled in my hand!
VIDEO:
I put it back into the incubator just like this, in case there was any more absorbing it needed to do
within minutes, it pushed the shell all the way off
It took a few hours to learn how to stand and walk. I was SUPER worried when it didn't just get up like the other chicks had and thought maybe it had brain/ bone damage or something from the fall
VIDEO:
I was worried that I'd have to fashion a leg brace or something but decided to give it some time. Within a couple of hours, it was zooming around the incubator like a champ!
(It's the one with the orange legs)
and today, it's thriving!
VIDEO:
I know not every broken egg has a happy hatching, but this one did, so I thought I'd share!
The wax had to be thick to seal the missing pieces of shell and protect the membrane. I was really worried about the damage the fall might have done.
Well... yesterday (hatch day) a bit late in the game, I gently peeled off the wax, it pipped, and I wrapped it back up in a moist washcloth (leaving a breathing hole where its beak was) so that when it was ready it could bust outta the shell.
A short time later it started to really move but couldn't quite shake the membrane off so I helped a little and it unfurled in my hand!
VIDEO:
I put it back into the incubator just like this, in case there was any more absorbing it needed to do
within minutes, it pushed the shell all the way off
It took a few hours to learn how to stand and walk. I was SUPER worried when it didn't just get up like the other chicks had and thought maybe it had brain/ bone damage or something from the fall
VIDEO:
I was worried that I'd have to fashion a leg brace or something but decided to give it some time. Within a couple of hours, it was zooming around the incubator like a champ!
(It's the one with the orange legs)
and today, it's thriving!
VIDEO:
I know not every broken egg has a happy hatching, but this one did, so I thought I'd share!
