Broody has broken egg open and chick inside is breathing

[Kiki]

It is midnight now and I’ve just come out to find the chick has broke away from its shell and membrane completely now. One bit of relief. No visible open wounds, abdomen looks fine too. but it’s one leg is splayed out behind it. Could it be broken? It was kind of laying like this while hatching. Does it just need time to learn where it’s legs go or is this going to need intervention from the sounds of it. Like I said earlier I have never even hatched a chick in an incubator only under a broody so I’ve only really seen them once dried. I don’t know if this chick is a lost cause or if this is how they can look when hatching and wet if you know what I mean. How soon should they be able to stand and walk around after hatching? Thank you all so much for your help. I don’t think I could put her out of her misery, not when she’s fighting this hard. I understand the whole nature ha it way thing but I’m also not sure the mother hen just didn’t know what to do now and was maybe freaking out when the eggs would chirp because like I said, this was the third mostly formed dead chick I have found. But this one just was found in the nick of time.
I am still praying for this chick and not ready to give up yet. I know she still has a fight ahead of her though.

You should expect a newly hatched chick to be up any running around in a day or so.
They rest/sleep a lot the first day.

 

[myluckychucks]

I would say DON'T kill it , let nature take its course unless it IS suffering, it looks ok SO FAR.Chicks are wobbly for the first day and do't get up much. I have been hatching under broodies for 35 years and I would surely let it try to survive. The reason you have this problem with the hen getting up and cold eggs is you need to manage them SO THEY ALL HATCH THE SAME DAY (or the next day at the latest). If she goes broody set all the eggs on the same day! You can collect a bunch of eggs and keep them UNREFRIGERATED at about 45 °F turning them gently once or twice a day so the yolk doesn't stick, then when you have the right amount for her to cover them all well, MARK THEM carefully with a felt pen so any new eggs laid in the nest can be removed quickly. The hen needs all eggs to hatch at the same time because she needs to get up and raise them naturally. Good Luck

 

[Naisha]

Following this, I want to know how the story ends. Hope is a very good name
I hope it has a happy ending.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I lost track of which ones had been there from the start. If I let a hen do this again I will mark the first ones next time..
anyway her first successful egg hatch was a week ago today. She was still diligent with the eggs for a few days after but I feel like the last couple days she’s been up a lot.

but it’s one leg is splayed out behind it. Could it be broken? It was kind of laying like this while hatching.

Give her time to dry and see if she can get her legs under her. The leg being splayed behind her is concerning, but give a few hours to see if that straightens out, if not, then inspect the joint to see if it's slipped or if the chick's legs are splayed and she needs to be hobbled.

Is she attempting to move about some and is vocal when awake?

You mention in a post that she had a first successful egg hatch last week, so the Mama has 1 chick with her? I may be misunderstanding. IF she had a chick hatch, then she's not going to sit on eggs for more than a day or two before she does get off the nest to tend to the chick that hatch. She's getting on about the business of showing the little one to eat/drink, etc. and will abandon any eggs remaining in the nest.
We all have a lot to learn. I agree, marking eggs is always a good idea this helps prevent a staggered hatch, so next time do that.

I hope your little one makes it. Sometimes if there's a problem with the legs a chick doesn't make it, time will tell. Do the best you can. I would start giving drops of water soon since the chick is under a heat lamp, check to make sure she's not overheating. If she can move some, she may move from the heat if she gets too warm. Do you have any electrolytes or poultry vitamins on hand? If you do, then give her a few drops of those too.

 

[Ksw15]

I would say DON'T kill it , let nature take its course unless it IS suffering, it looks ok SO FAR.Chicks are wobbly for the first day and do't get up much. I have been hatching under broodies for 35 years and I would surely let it try to survive. The reason you have this problem with the hen getting up and cold eggs is you need to manage them SO THEY ALL HATCH THE SAME DAY (or the next day at the latest). If she goes broody set all the eggs on the same day! You can collect a bunch of eggs and keep them UNREFRIGERATED at about 45 °F turning them gently once or twice a day so the yolk doesn't stick, then when you have the right amount for her to cover them all well, MARK THEM carefully with a felt pen so any new eggs laid in the nest can be removed quickly. The hen needs all eggs to hatch at the same time because she needs to get up and raise them naturally. Good Luck

Yes all excellent advice! I may be scarred from raising chicks after this. Honestly if I’d have been more prepared I would have done all of this. I wasn’t really sure I was going to leave her to sit until it was too late to do all this. It was one of those back and forth things like - no we don’t need to raise more chicks, we have enough on our plate - but then curiosity took over once she continued to sit so diligently. I will definitely take all this advice on board if there is a next time.

Give her time to dry and see if she can get her legs under her. The leg being splayed behind her is concerning, but give a few hours to see if that straightens out, if not, then inspect the joint to see if it's slipped or if the chick's legs are splayed and she needs to be hobbled.

Is she attempting to move about some and is vocal when awake?

You mention in a post that she had a first successful egg hatch last week, so the Mama has 1 chick with her? I may be misunderstanding. IF she had a chick hatch, then she's not going to sit on eggs for more than a day or two before she does get off the nest to tend to the chick that hatch. She's getting on about the business of showing the little one to eat/drink, etc. and will abandon any eggs remaining in the nest.
We all have a lot to learn. I agree, marking eggs is always a good idea this helps prevent a staggered hatch, so next time do that.

I hope your little one makes it. Sometimes if there's a problem with the legs a chick doesn't make it, time will tell. Do the best you can. I would start giving drops of water soon since the chick is under a heat lamp, check to make sure she's not overheating. If she can move some, she may move from the heat if she gets too warm. Do you have any electrolytes or poultry vitamins on hand? If you do, then give her a few drops of those too.

She seems to have sorted her one leg out and is attempting to walk now at 6am. She still looks very wet and seems weak and sleepy, but she is chirping and trying to walk/pushing herself around and definitely fights and chirps when I picked her up to show her the water.
When I placed her beak in the water she did take a little gulp but then kept holding her head back and opening her mouth like she was still gulping and I was worried for a second she was drowning or maybe couldn’t swallow. Is this something they need to learn at hours old or does she maybe have a problem there? Again, these most basic things have always been taught here by a mother hen. I am completely clueless here.
Thank you all again so much for your responses. Nearly 24 hours in and I can’t believe she’s still alive. Im really rooting for her but just don’t know yet how this will end. All suggestions are appreciated. I will stop and buy some vitamins this morning for her. When do you know if you need to syringe feed?

 

[myluckychucks]

You should not need to syringe feed her. The yolk is being absorbed for about 24 hours after hatching so that is her food. Gently dip her beak in the water to make sure she knows how to drink. Give her chick starter but a SMALL AMOUNT of scratch, which is bright in colour and will get her interested, can be sprinkled on top of the food. Make sure you see her eat and drink because they usually follow the lead of the hen and the other chicks. It will be hard with only 1 chick. I have been successful in putting a chick with a hen with other chicks but hens that will do that are rare. I know it's her chick but she may not see it that way. I would see if the hen will tolerate the new chick but you have to wait until it's strong enough to keep up to the older chick, maybe tomorrow, but you have to watch carefully for quite a while and keep them in a small confined area so the hen is pretty much forced to stay close.
I see your worried about the leg. Thats a wait and see kind of scenario. Make sure the bottom of the chicks enclosure is not slippery so it has no chance of slipping around when it tries to walk. Wood chips are good but if they slide on a smooth surface thats not good.

 

[TheCluckyClucker2]

I suggest mash and save-a-chick at this point.

 

[Weeg]

Yes all excellent advice! I may be scarred from raising chicks after this. Honestly if I’d have been more prepared I would have done all of this. I wasn’t really sure I was going to leave her to sit until it was too late to do all this. It was one of those back and forth things like - no we don’t need to raise more chicks, we have enough on our plate - but then curiosity took over once she continued to sit so diligently. I will definitely take all this advice on board if there is a next time.

She seems to have sorted her one leg out and is attempting to walk now at 6am. She still looks very wet and seems weak and sleepy, but she is chirping and trying to walk/pushing herself around and definitely fights and chirps when I picked her up to show her the water.
When I placed her beak in the water she did take a little gulp but then kept holding her head back and opening her mouth like she was still gulping and I was worried for a second she was drowning or maybe couldn’t swallow. Is this something they need to learn at hours old or does she maybe have a problem there? Again, these most basic things have always been taught here by a mother hen. I am completely clueless here.
Thank you all again so much for your responses. Nearly 24 hours in and I can’t believe she’s still alive. Im really rooting for her but just don’t know yet how this will end. All suggestions are appreciated. I will stop and buy some vitamins this morning for her. When do you know if you need to syringe feed?

This is an incredible story! I'm so glad that this sweet one has made it this far.
You don't need to worry abbot syringe feeding. The yolk sack they absorbed the day before is all the food and water they need for the first 24 hours. After that, dip her beak in the water and offer a mashed feed.
The leg is concerning. Can you try to get a better look and see if its splayed or slipped? pictures maybe helpful.
I also noticed she still looks wet. How long has it been since she hatched? Doing some light and gentile "preening" for her may be helpful in drying out those feathers, so though they may dry out on their own as well. Keep us updated! Congrats on making it this far, I'll keep my fingers crossed for you!

 

[Ksw15]

This is an incredible story! I'm so glad that this sweet one has made it this far.
You don't need to worry abbot syringe feeding. The yolk sack they absorbed the day before is all the food and water they need for the first 24 hours. After that, dip her beak in the water and offer a mashed feed.
The leg is concerning. Can you try to get a better look and see if its splayed or slipped? pictures maybe helpful.
I also noticed she still looks wet. How long has it been since she hatched? Doing some light and gentile "preening" for her may be helpful in drying out those feathers, so though they may dry out on their own as well. Keep us updated! Congrats on making it this far, I'll keep my fingers crossed for you!

It has been about 12 hour since she completely broke free of her shell now. She still looks wet she is getting little actions of fluff but I’m concerned her fluff isn’t as thick as a normal healthy chick, even when it does dry out I feel like they will be a bit sparse. This makes me think maybe she’s pre term. Her leg has thankfully sorted itself out. She is standing on both legs okay now and pushing herself up occasionally. She seems weak and very sleepy. Like she will be trying to walk and then just lays down asleep. Is this normal for a 12 hour old chick or does she sound weak?
She’s 24 hours since she came in now so she is fighting. I’m just worried she is weak or maybe didn’t go the full 21 days. I haven’t seen a normal chicks first day in an incubator for example, so I have no point of reference!

 

[Ksw15]

I suggest mash and save-a-chick at this point.

Okay headed to the feed store now and will see what they have. Should I wet the mash or just give it dry?