HELP urgent egg that is making noise!

[Buntybunny]

Poor you, hug, it is distressing trying to work out what to do for the best! You could do with a break, give Mom another chance! You've done marvelously, worked hard and done your very best! Make a cup of tea or pour a glass of wine - don't know what the time is at yours, could be breakfast time! lol

 

[PouleChick]

You've done marvelously, worked hard and done your very best! Make a cup of tea or pour a glass of wine - don't know what the time is at yours, could be breakfast time! lol

Thank you - evening here (after 9.30) and yes I have a nice glass of white wine in hand!

 

[featherhead007]

Dear girl, don't beat yourself up over that chick! Let us do all the crying for you! There, all better!

 

[bobbi-j]

I'm a total newbie so this is a huge learning curve - I tried my best - I know next time that I should probably move a bit quicker - if mum has already kicked it out and no sign of pipping by day 23 then something is goign on - may as well try to help or it will die anyway.

Thank you - absolutely - I've learnt sooo much and will take on board all I have read / learnt today!

It is so much easier delivering human babies - at least I know what to do!!!!

Thanks to everyone for your support and help!

You gave it a shot. Chances are the chick would have been weak and not made it anyway. Don't beat yourself up. You did what you could. I have learned to trust my broodies. When they kick one out of the nest, I let it be. (I haven't come across one that's chirping, though. Not sure what I'd do with that.) You did good!

 

[Tiana's chickens]

If it hatches, don’t be surprised if there is something wrong with the chick. That’s usually why they are late in hatching. Not always, but I don’t want you to be caught off guard.

I had a perfectly healthy chick hatch at day 26 that the broody hen rejected to look after the other chicks

 

[Tiana's chickens]

I'm sorry I only just caught up. I'm sorry the little chick didn't make it you gave it a good chance though and did the best you could, sometimes they just aren't strong enough to live, when that happens there is nothing else you can do. Lots of hugs xx

 

[Spartan22]

Sorry to hear @PouleChick, I’d been quiet awhile, since am still sad about loosing the first Black Copper Marans chick that hatched yesterday morning. I didn’t move my RIR (broody #2) to the solitary separate room since I was in a Hurry to go to work, aside from fear that she might abandon again the remaining eggs.

While I’m at work she got pushed out of her nest by other hens that want to lay eggs, for some weird way she end up in broody #4’s (Australorps) nest adjacent to hers, managed to move down 2 of her eggs and hatched them (an olive Egger and bcms empty shells are beside her) and 2 new fluff chicks under her, her comb with dried blood. She might had gotten with a fight to protect her broods. While broody #4 sitting on her remaining 4 eggs and she’s sitting on the wrong nest. Hatched chick #1 nowhere to be found except a tiny puff of fuz eaten by the other hens. Needless to say I worked diligently till midnight to put up a new door To the small room in the coop to move her, the 2 new hatched and the rest of her incubating eggs and move broody #4 back to her own nest.

 

[HenniesInMyHeart]

I am so sorry you lost your little one.
I've been there. In some way, we all have. I am still mourning the loss of two chicks in particular: a malpositioned one which pipped at the wrong end and cracked away some shell, but the membrane was awfully thick and s/he couldn't penetrate it and the poor baby drowned. :'( I thought if you see shell broken away, even on the wrong end, the baby was able to breathe. Not always so. It haunts me that I let that happen, but there was no way to predict it and I had never read of an external egg pip where the membrane didn't break, too. The second one was, again, a very thick membrane, but this time even though the chick was in the right pipping position, s/he could not poke through the membrane and ended up shrink-wrapped and died.
We live and we learn, and make decisions about the future along the way. I have learned that I would rather intervene than be paralyzed by fear and lose perfectly healthy babies because my skills aren't better.
Regarding broody hens and late eggs:
Sometimes, broody hens reject late eggs because she has to think of the rest of the chicks. She risks weakening the rest of her brood if she doesn't lead them to food and water and holds them back while waiting for the last egg. Sometimes, they will also reject eggs if they are too cold. Same goes for new chicks. Since yours did it more than once, she was choosing the majority over the one.
You did everything in your power for your little one! Next time you've got hatching eggs, you will feel much more confident.

 

[PouleChick]

Thanks all so much for your lovely support - really appreciate it

Next time you've got hatching eggs, you will feel much more confident.

I hope so! I'm doubting things more that is for sure. I have my young Sussex sat on 12 eggs and I've been down a a few times now after she has been up for her daily's and found some of the eggs a bit off to the side like she doesn't know to tuck them in under her when she sits back down. I'm thinking I'm going to put 6 in the incubator to spread the risks and just pop them under her on the day they are all hatching - i'm guessing (hoping) she won't notice, she is happy with my handling her / fiddling with the eggs.

 

[cmom]

Good luck. Sometimes the chicks make it and sometimes they don't. I have taken all of the eggs away from a broody and put them all in the incubator. I didn't give them back to her but brooded them myself. If you ever experience this again you will probably be better prepared. Homemade incubator made out of a styrofoam cooler. I put the foil on the bottom so when the chicks hatch it makes cleaning easier.