Had a hatch due on Monday, not sure what number hatch I'm on now... lost count. Everything was going routine, first early bird out and about, half of the rest pipped. Tuesday morning my husband had put 3 in the brooder, two were still drying, and no action on #6. Watched #6 all day, still no action. Tuesday night, I picked up #6, and heard weak tapping and a pathetic peep. I talked to it, peeping changed. Sometimes there is a distress peep, sounds more urgent than regular hatching peeps, similar to the peeps of when they're really trying to get out, during that final push from the shell. Shouldn't be peeping like that when it isn't even pipped yet. So I grab a paper towel and a small knife, and start scoring the shell. Super thick shell! Usually I need to score the shell about 4 times before I can catch the side and take a chip off. About 10 scoring swipes later, I finally have enough shell scraped off to catch it and chip it off. Gently tear the white membrane, and that chick had the biggest rip in the sack I've seen. As if it had been looking for a soft spot to pip from or something. It looked ready to hatch, blood gone from the membrane. Set up a tray just in case the belly wasn't finished. It's a small take-out food plastic tray, lined with a damp paper towel. Keeps the baby off the wire so that the belly doesn't snag on the wire of the incubator. It was just starting to close. #6 was so weak and tired, hardly a peep. I can't believe how thick that shell was! The eggs were from a friend, who raises Swedish Flower Hens. None of the others had been thick like that. This morning though, she's doing much better! A girl, by all appearances. Can lift it's head, and teeter around on it's feet. Doesn't seem to be anything wrong with it now. It just needed help out and time to regain it's strength. Now I have to set up the cage top I have in the brooder, so that the others can see it but not pick at it. They're always so mean to late babies! They only have a 2 day head start. Such a relief, you can't always save them, specially when there really is something wrong with them. This one, nothing scary hiding in that egg, just an exhausted baby.
