Broody hen pecking at hatching egg

[kattington]

I have s broody hen whose eggs are hatching right today. I just came out and found her pecking at one of the eggs. The shell is cracked all over the egg, but the membrane is still intact. She made it bleed a little. The chick is creeping and moving around inside. The egg was up in front, so I moved it behind her. Is there anything else to do? I don't have an incubator.

 

[kattington]

. I just checked again and she has pecked it some more and it is bleeding again. It's still moving around.

 

[roseyred]

i would take it outa there and put it on a heating pad and hope for the best. momma may be right tho and there may be something wrong with it.

 

[kattington]

Thanks for replying! I am new at this. I know this is controversial, but I ended up helping the chick hatch after the bleeding stopped. I put it right back under mama when I was done. I just don't feel that it could have hatched in the state the egg was in. It was definitely odd, because I don't think the chick ever pipped. I wonder if the egg may have been stepped on, and then it was cracking under the weight of mama. Once she noticed it, she started pecking it. I'm not sure if she was eating the cracked eggshell or if she was trying to help it hatch. The chick is alert, dry and all fluffed up this morning! Hopefully it continues to do well. Three chicks have hatched as of this morning, just six more to go!

 

[kattington]

The chick is active and eating! 5 chicks hatched so far!