I killed one of my chickens.....

[FaithAnn]

Thanks for all of the advice. I just have to take it as a lesson learned and hope that the other 8 in the incubator make it.

 

[waibel zoo]

I think sometimes they can start on a ruptured yolk. I have had them start but never get past day 4 on a ruptured yolk. I have opened to invetigate non progress by day 10 and you can tell it stoped days before.

 

[luvmychicknkids]

Quote:
Yup.....this is correct. I have had one go as far as day 9 with a ruptured yolk. They can start the process but always die. That said, I am also a member of the NEVER toss it until it stinks club. There is just no reason to. I made the same mistake when I first started hatching and it was just horrible.

Sorry you had to experience that.

 

[Wynette]

FaithAnn - you did what seemed right at the time; don't beat yourself up - you learned some imortant new information! Gosh, each and every time I hatch (or even just pop onto BYC) I learn somthing new. I feel like that's my job as a chicken owner...to be as responsible as possible, which means never stop learning! Now you know for next time!

 

[cassey40]

I'm so sorry for you loss, I have recently done the same thing on sunday i thought the eggs was no good because i couldnt see inside the egg I have alot like that so i thought i would check when i opened it thier was a little chick in the middle and the yolk was around him but he was still alive. I feel you loss and pain. I have decided to keep all eggs unless i see a blood ring and i did find one last night so i tossed it. I will let the others stay until july1 that is hatch day. Good luck with the rest of your babies.

 

[Critter Crazed]

Awwww! I'm so sorry!

I'm sure I would've done the same thing but now I know from you guys not to toss any unless there's a blood ring. I actually just did an eggtopsy today on an egg with a blood ring. There was an embryo but it had died.

Don't beat yourself up though.. I mean it's not like you actually tried to do that. You were trying to do the best thing! Take it as a cool experience to see a live chicken embryo.

 

[dancingbear]

Bear in mind that veining can sometimes resemble a blood ring. I mark any I'm unsure of, and recheck in a few days. If there's no progress, or, as often happens, you can see for sure that it's a quitter, then you can take it out.

 

[walkswithdog]

Dancing bear is right. Veins often resemble blood rings.

I don't toss eggs unless they weep or smell. Period.

If you keep trying to weed out early you'll make more mistakes and kill more birds.

What's the rush, really? Are you so over loaded you can't turn an extra egg for three weeks?

Patience, Grasshoppers. I've never had an egg explode ever. And I usually run even suspicious eggs the full 21 days. And you know what? A good percentage of those "marked" eggs hatch. Truth is, you often can't tell.

Thinking you can - will kill birds you otherwise could have hatched.

Candling is useful for fertility and progress of a majority of eggs but it's not a perfect test by any means.

Be patient, be aware and just let em roll. You'll get more chicks than you will have exploders. When I go to set hatchers, then clear eggs can easily be seen, and usually dead ones are obvious at that point and removed.

Even then if there's a question I let it run.

There's no harm in patience. There is harm in a rush to judgement if you're wrong. You don't get to take cracking it back...

 

[Shannon Robinson50]

I candled my eggs today and was SURE that three of them were not developing. I cracked two of them to investigate and, sure enough, the egg was fertile, but did not develop. I cracked the third and to my horror there was an embryo in the egg with a beating heart.

The yolk was busted, but the embryo was definitely alive. I am not sure if I burst the yolk when I cracked the egg, but I really don't think I did. I was very careful with it.

I had asked on another thread, but now I am very curious. Does anyone think that an egg can develop when the yolk was busted in transit - i.e. scrambled. These were shipped eggs and I was sure that they were scrambled, I was obviously wrong.

Lesson to other newbies -- wait to cull -- I was sure this one was not developing, but I was wrong.

I’m sorry. I don’t think it would have made it to hatching. It must have been a shock. I’m so sorry. I had 3 iffy ones today, but I left them in. Mine are quail, so I’ll know by next Friday anyway. I had several 16 clear eggs that I took out. 6 infertile and 10 broken yolks.