Day 19 egg got stepped on.........

[fawnda]

I have a broody hen who has been doing a wonderful job incubating 5 Ameraucana eggs. Today however, I believe another hen got into where she is incubating her eggs and one of the eggs got tromped on by either broody hen or the interloper :/ I've secured the hen and remaining eggs for sure now! I would say about 20% of the shell has been cracked or fallen off, however, it looks like the membrane is intact and only a teeny tiny bit of dried blood was visible. I picked up the damaged egg and heard the chick peep! I can see the tip of it's beak sticking out just a wee bit through the membrane.......I decided it's probably safest to keep this one in the incubator the rest of the way. I put coconut oil on the exposed membrane and the humidity is at upper 70's percent. It's been moving, rocking and peeping occasionally. Is there anything else I should do? Do you think it will need help hatching? It's rocked itself up against the side of the incubator currently and not sure it that's ideal, as it's missing shell on the bottom and seems a bit stuck there(?) I'm so worried, I don't want to lose this little one so close to the end!

 

[Chickenlover2goats]

I would help it out of the shell just leave a little bit, after you get it out of the shell make sure the chick stays warm. I've had to do it before with my ducklings it works

 

[nchls school]

I have a broody hen who has been doing a wonderful job incubating 5 Ameraucana eggs. Today however, I believe another hen got into where she is incubating her eggs and one of the eggs got tromped on by either broody hen or the interloper :/ I've secured the hen and remaining eggs for sure now! I would say about 20% of the shell has been cracked or fallen off, however, it looks like the membrane is intact and only a teeny tiny bit of dried blood was visible. I picked up the damaged egg and heard the chick peep! I can see the tip of it's beak sticking out just a wee bit through the membrane.......I decided it's probably safest to keep this one in the incubator the rest of the way. I put coconut oil on the exposed membrane and the humidity is at upper 70's percent. It's been moving, rocking and peeping occasionally. Is there anything else I should do? Do you think it will need help hatching? It's rocked itself up against the side of the incubator currently and not sure it that's ideal, as it's missing shell on the bottom and seems a bit stuck there(?) I'm so worried, I don't want to lose this little one so close to the end!

This is ify. I, personally, would leave it alone until another egg starts zipping. Then, at that time, check to see if the membrane on the rounded end is bloodless or nearly so. If it is, I'd remove the shell and membrane on the round end just enough for the chick to emerge on its own. If there is blood present in the membrane check again in an hour... until the membrane is lacking blood.
This is a bad situation so be prepared for the worst. The problems here are bacteria and the membrane drying out. You did right in putting the egg in an incubator.

 

[fawnda]

The photo is the worst damaged side on the egg. The other side and the ends are ok looking actually. I can see it breathing. It's pretty active and keeps peeping, so hoping it just needs another day or 2 and it can stay healthy until hatch day

 

[Offshoreorca]

I had a situation just like this a week and a half ago - the chick got crushed in the shell at about Day 20 and made it. I had to slowly hatch it out over a 24hr period and keep the membrane moist. And then it as touch and go for almost a week as it had become sooo weak (and I think it had an infection, which is always a risk with crushed eggs), but he's a healthy little fella now. You can do this!

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/assisted-hatching-hen-squashed-egg-graphic-photo.1377577/

 

[nchls school]

Active and peeping means a strong chick. Good luck. Don't get impatient and assist too soon. Too soon is a death sentence for the chick as the yolk sack wouldn't be absorbed and most chicks that hatch with an unabsorbed yolk die.

 

[fawnda]

I had a situation just like this a week and a half ago - the chick got crushed in the shell at about Day 20 and made it. I had to slowly hatch it out over a 24hr period and keep the membrane moist. And then it as touch and go for almost a week as it had become sooo weak (and I think it had an infection, which is always a risk with crushed eggs), but he's a healthy little fella now. You can do this!

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/assisted-hatching-hen-squashed-egg-graphic-photo.1377577/

What did you do to keep the membrane moist? How often did you have to moisten it? How high did you keep the humidity?

 

[Offshoreorca]

What did you do to keep the membrane moist? How often did you have to moisten it? How high did you keep the humidity?

You're in a better situation as you have an incubator - I hatched mine out in a bowl under the brooder as that's all I had available at the time. Most people use coconut oil applied sparingly with a Q-tip on the membrane. If you have an incubator at about 65% humidity or so, you shouldn't need to do this super often (more so when you go in to help and the humidity drops as you open the incubator or whenever the membrane starts to look dry). I didn't have coconut oil on hand so I just used water applied with a Q-tip to the membrane. Be careful not to drown the chick.

As others mentioned, make sure not to rush hatching it. If it's only Day 19 it will need more time and you don't want to risk it dying from assisting it out too early. Read up on assisted hatching as you'll likely need to help as crushed eggs often have issues with shrink-wrapping or weak chicks. Keep everything disinfected to reduce risk of infection as that can easily kill the chick before or after it hatches. There are a lot of good threads on this forum concerning assisted hatching - I would read up on them incase.

You can do it

 

[fawnda]

You're in a better situation as you have an incubator - I hatched mine out in a bowl under the brooder as that's all I had available at the time. Most people use coconut oil applied sparingly with a Q-tip on the membrane. If you have an incubator at about 65% humidity or so, you shouldn't need to do this super often (more so when you go in to help and the humidity drops as you open the incubator or whenever the membrane starts to look dry). I didn't have coconut oil on hand so I just used water applied with a Q-tip to the membrane. Be careful not to drown the chick.

As others mentioned, make sure not to rush hatching it. If it's only Day 19 it will need more time and you don't want to risk it dying from assisting it out too early. Read up on assisted hatching as you'll likely need to help as crushed eggs often have issues with shrink-wrapping or weak chicks. Keep everything disinfected to reduce risk of infection as that can easily kill the chick before or after it hatches. There are a lot of good threads on this forum concerning assisted hatching - I would read up on them incase.

You can do it

Yes, I will definitely not rush the process! Thanks for the advice and encouragement I will post any changes and hopefully the hatch in a day or 2......

 

[fawnda]

Look who hatched all by themselves early this morning! I woke up at 5:15 to use the bathroom and went to check on this guy and he was completely out of the shell laying there! I touched him to make sure he was alive and he popped up and starting peeping like a champ! Seems strong and healthy so far. Gets up occasionally and takes a few wobbly steps, then plops back down and passes out. Peeping and yawning. Looks like the yolk and everything was fully absorbed. Curious to check on the eggs under broody mama and see if they've also hatched now. If the others have hatched, when do you think I can give this one back to broody mama? Should I wait a bit to make sure this one is still doing ok?