Hatching egg stepped on

[Chickennewbie121]

Hi all. I've been hatching eggs under a broody light Sussex hen. This is her and my first hatch. They have been hatching from Monday to today Friday (all.were put under her on different days) . Yesterday she had 6 chicks and I noticed that the final egg under her had a dry membrane and was slightly cold. This was an egg that I saw her step on earlier that day when I was feeding the chicks. Assuming that mother hen had given up on hatching the egg I moved it into my incubator and wet the membrane a bit. It's been 20 hours since then. The chick is alive within the shell and making clacking noises with its beak. I thought it should have been hatched by now but maybe the chicken stepping on it forced it to hatch earlier than it was ready to hatch. Should I assist hatching? Should I leave it in the incubator? Or try leaving it back with its mother?

 

[nchls school]

Check the membrane covering the chick, if it is milky-white and the veins plump and full of blood it is too soon to assist. Keep the egg in the incubator. With chicks a few days old the hen can no longer sit tight to keep the egg warm. Hopefully, when the egg gets warm the chick will hatch on its own. If the membrane has lost its milky-white color and is nearly bloodless, it should be safe to assist. At this point the chick may be too weak to hatch on its own. Carefully peel away the shell and membrane where the egg has pipped. Remove just enough for the chick to exit the shell on its own. It is important that the chick push free of the shell without help as the yolk sack may not be absorbed completely. Push the membrane back and over the remaining shell as much as you can so it does not dry to the chick preventing it from hatching. Good luck.

 

[Chickennewbie121]

Check the membrane covering the chick, if it is milky-white and the veins plump and full of blood it is too soon to assist. Keep the egg in the incubator. With chicks a few days old the hen can no longer sit tight to keep the egg warm. Hopefully, when the egg gets warm the chick will hatch on its own. If the membrane has lost its milky-white color and is nearly bloodless, it should be safe to assist. At this point the chick may be too weak to hatch on its own. Carefully peel away the shell and membrane where the egg has pipped. Remove just enough for the chick to exit the shell on its own. It is important that the chick push free of the shell without help as the yolk sack may not be absorbed completely. Push the membrane back and over the remaining shell as much as you can so it does not dry to the chick preventing it from hatching. Good luck.

Thank you for the advice. Unfortunately shortly after posting this the chick passed away in the shell. I had removed a lot of the dried membrane around the chick. It was bloodless and dried up but unfortunately the chick wasn't strong enough to hatch the rest of the way. Once I realised it was dead I peeled the shell of the rest of the way and found a light grey build up the consistency of wet chalk that smelled awful. The other 6 chicks are bright and healthy so I'm happy with the hatch especially for the first time

 

[birdlover2]

W19201099


Thank you for the advice. Unfortunately shortly after posting this the chick passed away in the shell. I had removed a lot of the dried membrane around the chick. It was bloodless and dried up but unfortunately the chick wasn't strong enough to hatch the rest of the way. Once I realised it was dead I peeled the shell of the rest of the way and found a light grey build up the consistency of wet chalk that smelled awful. The other 6 chicks are bright and healthy so I'm happy with the hatch especially for the first time

(Yikes...sorry for your loss )