Cracked open what I thought was a "dud" egg--chick inside looked alive

[horsepowerhaven]

I feel horrible. I just had my first broody hen experience. Started out with 9 eggs under her, 3 kicked out of the nest, 1 hatched at day 20 and 2 others on day 28 this past Tusday (big surprise to me). My Phoenix hen stopped sitting on the remaining eggs during the day as soon as the last 2 chicks hatched. I waited a couple more days to see if any other eggs would hatch, but they were ice cold.

Today I decided it was time to crack them open and see what happened. Two of the eggs sounded like liquid, one was a partially developed chick and the other an unfertilized egg. The third felt solid (shells are too thick to candle) but when I cracked it open there was a developing chick that looked like it was still alive and I swear I saw it move its feet. This egg was actually only about 14 days into development (house sitters left eggs under her when I was out of town). It totally freaked me out and now I feel terrible.

Please educate me! I thought the hen needed to be on the eggs most of the day and night to keep them develping and that they must not get cold. This egg was only being sat on at night at this point and was ice cold during the day. Was the chick probably dead and I was imagining the movement? I want to make sure I don't make the same mistake the next time.

Thanks for any advice for a newbie.

 

[horsepowerhaven]

Still looking for some advice on this from those of you with much more experience... Thanks!

 

[SparkyCrows]

It could have still been alive but it wouldn't have been able to hatch on it's own and certainly wouldn't have survived very long. Forgive yourself, and your hen.

 

[youngbiddy]

It might have been alive, but there's really no way to know for sure. Try not to feel too bad, I've seen much worse stories. One member went to throw a bad egg away and threw the live one, instead. Against a tree. Guess what the adult chickens in the yard did?

Yeah, don't feel too bad.

 

[horsepowerhaven]

Thanks for the replies. So, in the future once the broody stops sitting on the eggs during the day--can I assume they will not hatch and discard the remaining eggs?

Thanks!

 

[kelseygirl707]

Was there any blood? If it was in fact still alive and had not pipped yet, you most likely would have seen blood, when they stop developing the veins dry up.

 

[ronikins]

Quote:

OMG... that is horrible! That sounds like some kind of boneheaded move I'd do.

I just took away an egg I think was a 'dud'. I just put it in the trash. I didn't want to crack it to see if it was a viable egg at one point. My husband said the next thing we know we'll hear chirping from the trash. UGH... talk about feeling bad! Should I have just left it under mama? She hatched an egg on Wed. So I figured it's been 2 days past hatch date......

 

[Higins00]

could another hen of laid it later after she had sat on the clutch for a few days? Do the other hens lay on the eggs during the day to lay and have kept it warm? could have been lots of things going on

 

[youngbiddy]

Quote:

OMG... that is horrible! That sounds like some kind of boneheaded move I'd do.

I just took away an egg I think was a 'dud'. I just put it in the trash. I didn't want to crack it to see if it was a viable egg at one point. My husband said the next thing we know we'll hear chirping from the trash. UGH... talk about feeling bad! Should I have just left it under mama? She hatched an egg on Wed. So I figured it's been 2 days past hatch date......

Bad hubby! Men have a twisted sense of humor. LOL
Eggs can hatch a couple of days late, I don't toss anything till I've candled it well enough to be sure. It's always a risky proposition to crack an overdue egg, anyway. You might get a face full of green goo.

 

[HollywoodHillsHens]

Bumping this thread as I had this experience recently. If the inner membrane is ruptured slightly with a few drops of blood, is there any saving the 19-day embryo? Even with saran wrap and a super-humid bator environment?