I broke a live egg!!! HELP!

[Rose Quartz]

Ho

How often do you moisturize? It’s nearly midnight and at this point I worry that I’m hovering, poking, and opening my incubator too much. After moisturizing with neosporin I can honestly say he has quite a bit of active blood vessel left. And now that I’ve noticed he’s upside down, I can see a small section of yolk. I don’t know how long I should leave him. If I should ignore him. I don’t evening know if I should work an air hole for him. Since he’s upside down I’d have to guess where his face is.

the veins in the bottom of the shell are a lot thicker than at the top, you risk puncturing one if you go searching for his face.

Personally I'd leave it and see if it hatches on it's own. They can hatch upside down sometimes. Having a small hole in the aircell part of the egg has never stopped any of my eggies from hatching on their own.

If it dies, it would really suck, but it really is better than trying to help and it still dying.

If you can see veins it's not ready to hatch.

As long as the incu is closed and around 65% humidity, just the one time will be fine until tomorrow. Get some sleep.

 

[Amurr]

Ok. I’ve moisturized the membrane with neosporin and determined that he’s upside down, and that my hole is a great deal bigger than I initially thought. Three hours after being unceremoniously interrupted from his incubation he’s still alive. I’m wrapping him in a wet paper towel back in the incubator, posting a picture in case it helps generate any more ideas, and going to bed. I’m praying for a miracle and I hope he’s alive in the morning.

 

[Rose Quartz]

Ok. I’ve moisturized the membrane with neosporin and determined that he’s upside down, and that my hole is a great deal bigger than I initially thought. Three hours after being unceremoniously interrupted from his incubation he’s still alive. I’m wrapping him in a wet paper towel back in the incubator, posting a picture in case it helps generate any more ideas, and going to bed. I’m praying for a miracle and I hope he’s alive in the morning.

Only thing i'd change is get rid of the paper towel, it'll makke it cold.

From the looks of tuings it's still quite a while before it'll be ready to hatch. And it will need help if it makes it that far.

Development wise (to me) it looks about day 18 or 19. Not quite ready. But if your already at day 24/25 it likely wont hatch.

 

[Amurr]

Alright guys. The verdict is in. I lost him some time between 3-8am. I’m not surprised, but I am devastated. He was also upside down in the egg and had a significantly crossed beak. (There didn’t seem to be anything physically wrong with the other two when they died)
I’d call this a lesson. I bought a cute little project incubator with clear walls and top. it was TINY, held only four eggs, looks like a house. You can find it on eBay or amazon. It had minimal instructions and no reviews. From the very beginning I had to cover it with a tea towel in order to get it to read 38.2Celsius. And I had to turn the eggs by hand. Honestly, judging by the delay in gestation, I’m now assuming that either the thermostat wasn’t accurate, or my daily opening and closing of the tiny incubator to turn them slowed them down. I think I’m throwing this incubator away. It was far too hard to maintain stability in something so tiny and incomplete. I’ll invest in something bigger, better, and with SOLID REVIEWS. I’m not sure my heart could take another complete loss.
Thank you all very much for your help. Today is gonna be a rough one.

 

[Floydie]

I've got that incubator and it worked fine for me. Maybe get in touch with the seller if it's faulty. These things happen sometimes and it can be down to different things. Try again.

Edit' I also ran mine at 37.8.C

 

[Eggscaping]

Alright guys. The verdict is in. I lost him some time between 3-8am. I’m not surprised, but I am devastated. He was also upside down in the egg and had a significantly crossed beak. (There didn’t seem to be anything physically wrong with the other two when they died)
I’d call this a lesson. I bought a cute little project incubator with clear walls and top. it was TINY, held only four eggs, looks like a house. You can find it on eBay or amazon. It had minimal instructions and no reviews. From the very beginning I had to cover it with a tea towel in order to get it to read 38.2Celsius. And I had to turn the eggs by hand. Honestly, judging by the delay in gestation, I’m now assuming that either the thermostat wasn’t accurate, or my daily opening and closing of the tiny incubator to turn them slowed them down. I think I’m throwing this incubator away. It was far too hard to maintain stability in something so tiny and incomplete. I’ll invest in something bigger, better, and with SOLID REVIEWS. I’m not sure my heart could take another complete loss.
Thank you all very much for your help. Today is gonna be a rough one.

I'm very sorry...very sorry...and I know how you feel. I'll put a link to the incubator I used. Opening and closing wasn't a problem because it returned to the correct temperature very quickly. Humidity *was* a problem for me simply because there was so much info on articles here that gave different ideas to me I was agonizing over the size of the air cells. I would put in water - humidity would go up - and then in about 6-8 hours it was too low, and I varied in 6-8 hour swings for the entire incubation. Up...down....up...down. In the end, everything was fine, I hatched 8 out of 8 eggs, though the last one was 2 days behind the first. I just put in a huge amount of water for lock down and kept it at 70% + . This incubator held, and returned to, the correct temperature like a champ. I incubated at 38.5 C which worked perfectly. The only thing I don't like about it is that you can only see in from the sides, not the top. I'd like to see in the top...but at the end my way of confirming that one was pipping was just to lift the top off and look that way...because I knew the temp would come back up so fast. After all, the broody hen gets off to eat, drink, and poop and during that time the eggs will cool a bit.
Upside down was not good, and she/he couldn't have pipped with that beak. You did nothing wrong...the chick was not going to make it.
One last note: The incubator I used has a really nice video on YouTube showing exactly how to set it up. I understand that it's so good that the company who makes this 'bator puts a link on the incubator saying to watch that video!
Hugs to you. I really feel your pain but don't beat yourself up. Stuff happens, and you will do better next time. When you DO try again, let us know and be sure to send pics of your chicks.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07F38C8R1/ref=nav_timeline_asin?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

 

[Amurr]

I've got that incubator and it worked fine for me. Maybe get in touch with the seller if it's faulty. These things happen sometimes and it can be down to different things. Try again.

View attachment 2109004

Edit' I also ran mine at 37.8.C

Damn. I just assumed I could blame the incubator. Now I have to completely reevaluate myself. I’m hesitant to try again with this incubator, but if it worked for you can I ask a ton of questions?
First, did you have a hard time getting it to hold its temp? I had to cover mine with a towel.
How often did you turn your eggs?
Humidity. Did you ever run it dry? Fill it every day?
Were you worried about the egg tray harming little legs?

 

[Floydie]

Damn. I just assumed I could blame the incubator. Now I have to completely reevaluate myself. I’m hesitant to try again with this incubator, but if it worked for you can I ask a ton of questions?
First, did you have a hard time getting it to hold its temp? I had to cover mine with a towel.
How often did you turn your eggs?
Humidity. Did you ever run it dry? Fill it every day?
Were you worried about the egg tray harming little legs?

No I never covered it. I tried both following the instructions and dry hatching, adding water just in the middle well about 4 times. For 3 hatches I didn't add water until day 7. And only filled all the way at lockdown.
And for the tray you can cut a piece of egg crate to fit the inside covering the tray, and put anti slip matting over that. You may not fit 4 chicken eggs in at lockdown like that though as I couldn't fit 8 quail eggs laying down. So I've hatched in it both with the egg tray uncovered and covered.
Try again, don't blame yourself these things happen. But have a play with the incubator first see if it runs more stable at 37.8.C

Edit dry hatching may or may not work for you, but I found a way that works for me after getting to know the incubator.

 

[Ebony Rose]

You whacking the egg may have been this little chick's answer to prayer, you discovered that it was positioned poorly for an easier hatch and now that you're aware, can be of assistance to this little life. You worry too much about it breathing, it was breathing through all that just fine WITH the shell intact, surely it's breathing easier with a chunk of the shell missing. Try to ignore the chick more, keeping the temperature in the incubator stabilized is more important to its survival. Still, keep your ears open for sounds of urgency or weakness so that you'll know when (if) it's time for you to assist. I will keep you and your feathered family in my prayers.

 

[LikeTurkeys]

You whacking the egg may have been this little chick's answer to prayer, you discovered that it was positioned poorly for an easier hatch and now that you're aware, can be of assistance to this little life. You worry too much about it breathing, it was breathing through all that just fine WITH the shell intact, surely it's breathing easier with a chunk of the shell missing. Try to ignore the chick more, keeping the temperature in the incubator stabilized is more important to its survival. Still, keep your ears open for sounds of urgency or weakness so that you'll know when (if) it's time for you to assist. I will keep you and your feathered family in my prayers.

@Amurr already said that the chick died. Also it was malpositioned, so I'm not sure the broken shell would have helped it breathe. In fact, I don't think the chick was ever breathing at all given the veining and the fact that it never pipped. It also had a cross beak, indicating possible genetic faultiness.

@Amurr, you tried. I hope you get better results next time!