Hello All, Hoping for some advice. I have a first time momma on my hands. She is a young Barred Rock and has done a great job getting her eggs to day 21 (today). We've had a few scary moments when she left the nest for long periods of time, but I candled the eggs on Day 19 and things are looking good with most of the eggs (movement, veining, intact air sacs, etc).
Here's my emergency: today I checked the eggs and noticed that the egg in the very center of the nest was about 1/3 smashed. I don't think that it has internally pipped and the internal membrane is still intact. I can see the chick moving but do not hear and cheeping. The chick is very warm but I am afraid that with its egg being so damaged that it will not survive until it is ready to hatch (which I am assuming will be any hour now). None of the other eggs have pipped.
Should I take the egg and place it in some sort of homemade incubator, making sure to keep the humidity up?
Thanks so much for any advice at all. I'm a little panicked and would like to make this decision before I go to bed tonight.
Here's my emergency: today I checked the eggs and noticed that the egg in the very center of the nest was about 1/3 smashed. I don't think that it has internally pipped and the internal membrane is still intact. I can see the chick moving but do not hear and cheeping. The chick is very warm but I am afraid that with its egg being so damaged that it will not survive until it is ready to hatch (which I am assuming will be any hour now). None of the other eggs have pipped.
Should I take the egg and place it in some sort of homemade incubator, making sure to keep the humidity up?
Thanks so much for any advice at all. I'm a little panicked and would like to make this decision before I go to bed tonight.