Help!!!! Opened incubated egg too soon! Chick's still alive?!?

[casportpony]

Way past due. Day 26.

Wow, and it's still alive? Amazing... If it were mine I would very carefully try to find the beak and make a hole in the membrane for it to breath, but that's me and I'd do it knowing that the chance for survival would be slim.

-Kathy

 

[casportpony]

Here is a peachick after I moistened the membrane and made a a hole for it to breath. Look close and you'll see it's foot on top of it's head. It was malpostioned and shrink-wrapped.



Here it is 16 hours later


-Kathy

 

[kitkat2498]

I would if I could find the beak and if those veins weren't still so big. I'm afraid she just isn't ready to come out.

 

[Araucana16]

I would think of the chick as a premie baby... assuming it's at day 18, probably a good guess based on the photo where it looked pretty developed but not all the way, that's about equivalent to a 35 week baby. So. It very possibly could live! You could help it breathe, but unless it's having problems, why interfere?

 

[kitkat2498]

Wow! It lived too? That's amazing. And I just found her beak! It seems to be in the middle of the egg,not sure how the rest of her is in there.

 

[lindz8504]

I had a similar situation with a staggered hatch under a broody, that one of the eggs accidentally got broken. I was also doing an egg-topsy when I saw the chick move! My chick ended up not being able to break out, and I wasn't there at the moment to help, but I think that it would have been fine if I had been there to help it break the membrane off. I did basically what you are doing, except with a make-shift incubator out of 2 pyrex dishes and a heat lamp. (I don't have an incubator.) I suggest reading this thread! Sally Sunshine is a hatching PRO!

https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/hatching-eggs-101

 

[Araucana16]

Could you post any pics?

 

[kitkat2498]

Could you post any pics?

Of the egg? I would love to post a video of it moving, but youtubes being a pain in the butt

 

[casportpony]

I would if I could find the beak and if those veins weren't still so big. I'm afraid she just isn't ready to come out.

Go with your gut feeling, that's what I do.

-Kathy

 

[kitkat2498]

Go with your gut feeling, that's what I do.

-Kathy

As soon as she stops moving for too long, I'll definitely help. But she seems to be doing good on her own.