Did a bad thing

[Nugget]

hi all. I let myself be swayed by bad advice. I have an egg that is at 22-23 days. It hasn’t been doing much (no cheeps, not rolling). Another chicken keeper told me I should break the shell or I’d lose the chick. I knew better but I broke the shell. It’s alive in there but looks like it’s not ready. Will the humidity of the incubator be enough to let the chick continue to develop or should I put cellophane over the hole? I have a gut feeling something is wrong with this chick, more than what I have done...

 

[Cyprus]

How much did you break the shell and where? Could you include a picture?
22-23 days isn't all that bad, but then again it isn't ideal.

 

[lazy gardener]

How many eggs did you start with? Did they hatch? When? This chick may or may not survive. If your equipment was accurately calibrated, chances are good that it has some abnormalities. If you did not calibrate, then it's anyone's guess.

 

[Sara L]

You could try putting vaseline or coconut oil on the exposed membrane to keep it from drying out.

 

[Nugget]

I chipped the broad end open enough I can see the chick through the membrane.

This is a singlet egg. I was kind of done hatching for the spring but a nice hen gave one fertile egg so I thought I would throw it in the incubator. If it made it I meant to buy a day old from somewhere so it wouldn’t be alone. May not need to now

 

[Sara L]

I chipped the broad end open enough I can see the chick through the membrane.

This is a singlet egg. I was kind of done hatching for the spring but a nice hen gave one fertile egg so I thought I would throw it in the incubator. If it made it I meant to buy a day old from somewhere so it wouldn’t be alone. May not need to now

Can you see movement or veins in the membrane? If there are veins, don't damage the membrane and apply some Vaseline or coconut oil to prevent it from drying out; keep it in the incubator and try to get humidity in the 60-70 range. If you can't see any veins, you could try very slowly chipping away additional parts of the shell. If there's blood at any point, stop immediately and apply a tiny bit of cornstarch to help stop the bleeding, and put it back in the incubator. There's some good threads on here about assisted hatching.

 

[C3 mommy]

All you need is a thin layer of Vaseline! Should be able to hatch on its own, unless it's malpositioned.

 

[Nugget]

Bad to worse.

I was quite sure it was dead. So I opened the shell completely. It looked dead until I tried to lift its head and it kicked... so I put it in a sandwich bag and put it back in the incubator. It looks days behind in incubation... wish I had left it alone. A lesson to anyone else fighting the temptation to intervene

 

[Cyprus]

Bad to worse.

I was quite sure it was dead. So I opened the shell completely. It looked dead until I tried to lift its head and it kicked... so I put it in a sandwich bag and put it back in the incubator. It looks days behind in incubation... wish I had left it alone. A lesson to anyone else fighting the temptation to intervene

 

[HuskerHens18]

We all make mistakes in incubation. It's okay, don't blame yourself for anything.
I don't know if it makes you feel better, but when I first incubated I opened the remaining egg shells at day 23 and they were all alive so I panicked and wrapped them in soaking wet paper towels and ended up drowning 4 chicks who probably should've lived.
Incubating is hard and everyone has their own advice.
So please don't be upset with yourself, it happens, okay? I'll pray for the little chick, and whatever happens was meant to be.