help - i'm in a mess - dead chick - very little shell

[chickenrk]

hi all,
my broody orpington has been sitting on eggs for nearly three weeks. i have been expecting chicks any day. Today i have come home to find a baby hatched, very little shell left, baby is cold and dead. Eyes are closed, but fully formed. I have quite a few eggs still under her. Should i lift them and put in an incubator? I had also put some further eggs under her a few days ago, thinking that the older eggs might not hatch...

 

[SunHwaKwon]

I would not. Wait until they hatch and mom leaves the nest, then candle the rest and put any developing ones in the incubator (if you want them to continue to develop).

 

[chickenrk]

I would not. Wait until they hatch and mom leaves the nest, then candle the rest and put any developing ones in the incubator (if you want them to continue to develop).

Thank you very much for the advice. I was slightly panicked when i saw the dead chick and thought perhaps that i had done something wrong. Thank you

 

[SunHwaKwon]

Not likely. Sometimes they wander out of the nest, or there is something else wrong and they just don't make it. I hate when it happens but you can't blame yourself and some things are unpredictable and unavoidable.

 

[chickenrk]

Thank you for the reassurance. I will keep an eye on her and any potential babies. I will also get the incubator on in case. Thank you very much

 

[Birdinhand]

I wouldn't be worried about one fatality, the development and hatching process is complex and flaws occur throughout that can lead to a fully developed chick that can hatch to varying degrees but not be ultimately viable. as for adding eggs at different times, this complicates things and is to be avoided, IMHO. Sunhwakwan has a good approach for dealing with those.

 

[chickenrk]

:s ok, yes, i do understand that i shouldn't have added the extra eggs - i was thinking that she has sat so patiently and as it is her first time, i was trying to help. Probably being a bit selfish too - as i would quite like little chicks. Thank you for your feedback, i will take it on board