day 23 and not hatched

[mandymoo]

hi, i had a broody who managed to hatch 2 out of 6 eggs i gave her. 3 died/weren't viable, and she was left with 1 in the nest after 2 hatched on monday

however, because she'd accidentally crushed one of the eggs, i removed the last one and put it in the bator yesterday to see if it would hatch

i candled it this morning (day 23) and can see a large air sac at the fat end, with veins running from it, and the rest of the egg is about 2/3 full with chick, but there is no sign whatsoever of internal pipping, and i couldn't see any movement in the egg from the chick

do you think it has died, and i should just throw it? or should i give it another 24 hours in the bator? should the egg be rocking if it's alive? because there's no movement at all

 

[sumi]

You will not see the egg moving until the chick is busy getting ready to hatch and even then you may not see anything happening until they pip externally. You can either leave the egg in the incubator for another day or carefully open it at the air sac end (above the air sac line) and check if the chick is still alive in there. You can do that by gently wiping the inner membrane covering the chick with a wet Q-tip (cotton bud). If there is no response from the chick when you do that, chances are it's gone.

 

[mandymoo]

thank you...what is the best way to break open the egg a little it at the air sac end? i know i have to be careful, and not rupture the membrane, so what would be the best thing to use to chip at the shell?

 

[sumi]

If you work from the end of the egg and the air sac is big you don't have to worry too much about the inner membrane, which will be covering the chick. This is one of the reasons we work above the air sac line! I use whatever sharp object is on hand, a small drill bit, a nail or screw... Anything really, as long as it's clean and has a sharp tip. Use that to score an X over and over until you break through the shell and then use a pair of tweezers to chip off bits of shell until you got a big enough viewing hole.

 

[mandymoo]

hi, thanks for that...i did it, and just as i suspected, the chick was dead. it was fully formed tho, so it must have died when mum hen decided not to sit on the nest any longer. thank you so much for all your help x

 

[sumi]

You're welcome. Sorry to hear the chick didn't make it.