Help, I hope I didn't hurt the chick in the egg!!!

[Golden Egg]

Mama hen hatched out 10 eggs, and then left the last 3 on the nest. Two sloshed, so I knew they were rotten. The last I wasn't sure about. So I candled it, didn't see much, and then very carefully cracked a little hole near the large end. Turns out there is a live chick in that egg! I guess it's just a late hatcher.
I saw a little blood, just a tiny bit, where I cracked it. I quickly put it under the hen again. (She had brought her chicks back onto the nest.) Should I do something? Do nothing? What if she leaves the nest again? Help! We've had a pretty bad mortality rate this year already, so I don't want to lose another chick!

P.S. I did read the sticky posts on helping chicks hatch.

 

[howfunkyisurchicken]

You did the right thing by putting it back. If you saw any amount of blood, that means the chick wasn't ready to come out yet. If you don't have an incubator, unfortunately you'll just have to let nature take its course. Or slap something together real quick and it works. I finished off some eggs abandoned by a broody in a cardboard box lined with aluminum foil. A heat lamp provided warmth and a dish of water humidity.
Good luck!

 

[Whittni]

I think you'd be okay to help it hatch when the mama hen's getting ready to sleep. Then put the chick you helped under her and it'll dry during the night and join the group the next morning. Just don't get your hopes up, because there could be a reason the chick hasn't hatched yet. Good luck.

 

[Golden Egg]

Thanks! Well, she wouldn't stay on the nest. I have the egg in a box right now in our camper trailer. It's pretty warm in there. The chick is alive; I can see it breathing. I have a damp cloth draped over it. But I don't think it's warm enough - the egg doesn't feel warm anymore. I'll try to rig something up with a lamp.

 

[Golden Egg]

Okay, I have it next to a hot water bottle, and the egg is beginning to feel warm now. How long should I wait? Should I see if it hatches on its own or help it? It hasn't pipped yet.

 

[howfunkyisurchicken]

You don't want to help it until the membrane is clear of veins and its yolk sac is absorbed. Checking for veins is easy, the yolk is a bit trickier.
Peel back some of the shell, a little at a time, if you see any blood or remaining veins STOP. Put the egg back and check again in a few hours. Once the veins are gone, you can chip away at the shell more. Be careful when you get near the pointy end. That's where the yolk sac will be if its unabsorbed and you don't want to rupture it. If you get that far and discover its there, just leave the bottom of the shell over it. I carefully pull the babies legs out so it doesn't get stuck in the bottom half of the shell. Very carefully. There's that all important yolk down there and the umbilical cord. The chicks always break the cord and ditch the shell once they get going.
Helping them is certainly nerve wracking, but it can be done. As others have said, don't get discouraged if it doesn't make it, there may be a reason the hen left it behind.
Sticking under mom tonight after its put is another excellent idea. It'll dry and fluff much faster and she'll provide comfort after the stressful ordeal of being picked from the shell.

All the best, GOOD LUCK!!!!

 

[howfunkyisurchicken]

Oh, and if its only been since this morning since you pipped the egg you may need to wait a while before doing any of that. Sometimes they'll pip and take 24 hours to absorb all of their necessaries. Just don't rush it.
Your biggest concern st this point will probably be keeping it from shrink wrapping. You can dropper some water onto the membrane if the paper towel isn't keeping things moist enough. You want to get it damp, not soaking wet. Again, good luck!

 

[Golden Egg]

Thank you thank you!

 

[dandydoodle]

I would put the egg under her when she settles in for bed. She won't be getting up and down. That might give the chick a chance to finish hatching on its own. Hens will leave perfectly good babies in their eggs if she has already had some hatched out and she feels teaching them to eat and drink is more important. As soon as she and the babies go down for bed put the egg under her and then go and check first thing in the morning. If the babies is still not out first thing in the morning I would get it back and then slowly help the chick out and put it back under her when she is sleeping. If you have an incubator you could go that route too. Good luck and let us know.

 

[howfunkyisurchicken]

So, how did everything turn out? Did your chick make it?