I think it's dead, but why? And what about the other egg? PIC added

[TheFeatheredTempest]

It's Day 23 now. My broody hen hatched out three healthy chicks on day 21 and is still sitting on the other 2 eggs. This evening there was a small crack (but no pip) in one egg and just a very tiny amount of blood by the crack. It also looked like the egg was rocking (although maybe I imagined it). I went to the store and came back an hour later and the egg was cracked down the length and the end, the small end was all the way off.

These chicks are silkie mixes and this particular egg I think was a silkie/cochin mix (silkie father, cochin mother). The membrane was visible on the end where the shell was gone. This was not at all the way the other three chicks hatched and sensing something was wrong I picked the egg up to look at it. It smelled

I used a toothpick and very delicately picked the shell away a little at a time and exposed a fully formed chick, apparently dead. The small amount of yellowish fluid that leaked out smelled rotten. There wasn't really any blood. I dabbed at the chick with a q-tip and cleaned around its beak. No movement. I left the chick still partially in the egg where it was attached and laid it back under the mom.

I assume its dead, but I thought if it was just tired or cold I'd put it back under mom and see what happened.... So why did it die? Does the smell mean it actually died a couple days ago? Did it drown? But if that was the case how did the crack form and the end of the shell come off? Gas pressure? Ohhhh So sad.

This was my very first hatch and at least I have three happy fuzzy chicks.

What about the other egg? I read to give them until day 25 and broody hen is still sitting on them. Should I pip the last egg and see what's going on? Does anyone have any advice? I feel really sad.

I took a picture and will get it posted asap.
Ok, here is pic.

 

[mrslb333]

Sounds like there was nothing you could have done to prevent it. Maybe some sort of bacteria got in and went bad and it exploded a bit. I'd candle the other egg to check for movement usually I'd leave it till day 24 but if one has gone bad chances are the other one could have too.
Don't be too disheartened it happens sometimes next time you could get a perfect hatch

 

[TheFeatheredTempest]

But I'm really wondering if this is my fault. Like, what if I picked the egg up at some point during the last few days and laid it back down the wrong way? And after the first three chicks hatched I candled the remaining eggs. They looked really full, hardly any air sack left that I could see. I wasn't able to see movement, but I was only using a flashlight. Maybe when I candled them I messed things up.

 

[mrslb333]

It's a matter of trial and error it takes a while to learn all there is to know and unfortunately there can be a few casualties on the way

Last week I forgot to put some of my eggs in the incubator on lockdown the humidity was still low and the auto turner was on plus I was in and out of it as I had some eggs to set I ended up with 100% hatch doing everything wrong so I doubt it was anything you did.
It seems to boil down to survival of the fittest and if a chick doesn't hatch it probably wasn't meant to be

 

[TheFeatheredTempest]

UPDATE - I opened the other egg. Another perfect fully developed dead baby.

 

[Cindiloohoo]

I do not think it is your fault. It sounds like bacteria started growing in those eggs late in incubation. It happens, even in a bator, even when not candled late. It just happens. There are almost always some casualties. RARE is the 100% hatch rate!!

 

[bantymanutah]

Hello, I'm really not sure where u live, but I'm in Utah and I've had several eggs do this septic look, I really think its do to later in the incubation time it might have been cracked hair line and the pip died but as the egg gets warmer ancloser to the hatch the eggs so full of not good stuff it basically explodes from like gases I hope u have more luck next year...

 

[TheFeatheredTempest]

I just found a useful thread on here that may explain why the two chicks died. They were fully formed and looked great but they hadn't even tried to pip. The head was still tucked under the wing. These were shipped eggs (yep, ebay) and apparently shipped eggs can result in damaged inner membranes allowing chicks to grow too large and then be unable to maneuver in the egg. It just a theory. But what makes me feel a little better is that neither chick had pipped internally. That means, I think, that their deaths weren't caused by me handling the eggs in late stage. I'm still upset that they died

but I'm glad it probably wasn't me that killed them. This may also explain why when I candled them the eggs looked so full at day 21 that there was hardly any air sac.

Here is the thread:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=241169&p=1

Thanks everyone for your support

Here's a happier picture. This is the happy broody foster mom with one of her new fuzzies! Mom's name is Gidget and this was her very first time. I'm really proud of her!