HELP! I cracked an egg at 25 days as i thought it was a dud

[nconley11]

Never hatched eggs before. Have hens that are very Broody so I left a couple in the try it out. I dated them 5/16 so they should have hatched around the 6th. Today I went in the coop to check them out and I was missing one and the other one was pushed to the side of the hen so I thought maybe she knew it was a dud. Obviously I cracked it open to make sure and lo and behold there was a live chick inside. I heard it peeping and it's moving. I broke the membrane as well so do I leave the chick with her or try to keep it inside with the heat lamp or is it a lost cause?

 

[Rose Quartz]

Never hatched eggs before. Have hens that are very Broody so I left a couple in the try it out. I dated them 5/16 so they should have hatched around the 6th. Today I went in the coop to check them out and I was missing one and the other one was pushed to the side of the hen so I thought maybe she knew it was a dud. Obviously I cracked it open to make sure and lo and behold there was a live chick inside. I heard it peeping and it's moving. I broke the membrane as well so do I leave the chick with her or try to keep it inside with the heat lamp or is it a lost cause?

could you post a picture? chicken egg? if you leave it with mama she might try to "help" if you put it under a light it might get too hot, but it wont necessarily die. it's up to you what you want to do, you can try giving it to mama hen and see if it works out.

 

[Fields Mountain Farm]

It happens..
It depends on how bad its cracked and how far along the chick is, in absorbing the yolk. Can you post pics?

 

[Broodygranny]

Could you keep it warm until you see if it is going to make it? I think keeping it warm is the most important thing, if you want to try and save it.

 

[nconley11]

It's gone already but any info for future is welcome. I definitely want expecting it to work the first time. I started a new batch of 6 on 6/6

 

[Rose Quartz]

oh. one thing to keep in mind is that depending on how much the mama hen gets up the chicks can be quite a bit behind the due date.

before you break an egg open that you think is dead, use a high powered flashlight to candle it and check for movement. if you can't see any movement, float test it. if there's still no movement then it's likely dead. but going into the aircell first and wetting the inner membrane will give you a pretty good window into see what's going on. if you still see no movement then you can keep going if you want to see when it died.

better luck next time.

 

[Broodygranny]

Awww! So sorry that happened. We all learn as we go. I hope your next hatch turns out great. When I want to check to see if an egg is just late, or a dud, I just candle it to locate the air cell and just crack it open a tiny bit at the air cell. I dont do this unless its three days late, and I want to clean out the incubator. Watch out for hens laying eggs in a broodys nest. They will do thisthis, and you will have eggs at different stages of incubation. The late ones get abandoned when she gets up to take care of the hatched chicks.

 

[Fields Mountain Farm]

Im so sorry!

oh. one thing to keep in mind is that depending on how much the mama hen gets up the chicks can be quite a bit behind the due date.

before you break an egg open that you think is dead, use a high powered flashlight to candle it and check for movement. if you can't see any movement, float test it. if there's still no movement then it's likely dead. but going into the aircell first and wetting the inner membrane will give you a pretty good window into see what's going on. if you still see no movement then you can keep going if you want to see when it died.

better luck next time.

X2

 

[boz]

They will do thisthis, and you will have eggs at different stages of incubation. The late ones get abandoned when she gets up to take care of the hatched chicks.

we think this is what we did we started out with almost 48 eggs in the incubator then at deferent times we had 12 chicks to hatch

 

[nconley11]

I candled them several days ago and could see the air pocket only so i thought the light was too poor or shell too thick to see the rest. Now i know it was likely just because the chick was taking up the whole egg. Is there a good window to candle?
My chickens definitely get up a lot. I write the date on the eggs I'm letting them sit on and pull all new ones. If there is no one sitting on the eggs when i check them i move the eggs over to another broody that's still sitting. What is an appropriate window for an egg that has a lot of time with no one sitting on it?
Thanks guys! I feel bad but know it happens and i learned my lesson!