Day 26. Is this egg still viable?

Zemeraire

Songster
Jan 17, 2020
210
1,167
206
South West Australia
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Its covered in tiny fractures that are only easily visible when candling. I initially thought they were veins until I noticed the tiny hole. No chick in sight. The other last egg has movement when candled. Other chicks hatched last night and the day before. I really don't want to discard if it still has a chance.
 
With all of those cracks and excessive air cell, I doubt that it is viable, but as long as there is no odor I'd give it a day or so more just in case. Any possibility they were incubated at a low temperature resulting in the late hatch ?
 
On night 20 there was a cold snap. On day 24 one chick hatched. On day 25 mama abandoned 3 pipping eggs and the last 3 unpipped (1 was rotten). I kept the eggs inside on a hot water bottle for aproxamatly an hour and a half as I set up a "chicken jail" inside the house to force her to stay on the eggs. Pipped eggs started to peep again after only 10 minutes on the hot water bottle, and when I gave them back to mama she stayed on them. All three pipped eggs hatched before 11pm that night (last night). Today mama kept getting off the nest in the tiny cage with her babies to eat and drink. She is currently on the nest again.

It has been very patchy weather recently, getting very hot late winter then frequent cold snaps early spring. Last night there was a storm.
 
So I gave up on the last two eggs about half an hour ago after candling again and no signs of life. Cracked them open. Two FULLY developed chicks, shrink wrapped and dead. They were not quite fully turned towards the air pocket. I am quite upset.

On another note, the three chicks that were pipping and got abandoned by mama hen, then I made her keep sitting on them till they hatched, are doing well. I was worried about one that is VERY small (silkie dad, normal sized mother) and couldn't properly stand up. All of them are actively walking around and eating/drinking. Tiny baby is still a little wobbly but doing much better.
 

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