Late quitters... Leave it in, take it out? Did it really quit?

[FenDruadin]

I have six bantam chicken eggs in the bator getting ready for lockdown. At last candling tonight, I'm pretty sure one of them is a quitter, but I'm afraid to take a definite step and ensure it's death by leaving it out of the incubator. I also don't want it to explode all over the others.

It smells fine, but while the others have definite veins and some movement, it is quiet and has nothing that is definitely veins (though some things that *might* be veins). It also has shown very little air cell growth since last candling, which for my last hatch was true of all, and only, the late quitters.

Would you remove it if it were you? Eggs are due on Sunday. Because there are only six, and they are so tiny, I can keep it in the incubator but well away from the others, which is where it is right now--they are in an egg carton in the middle of the bator, it is on the floor near the front of the bator (to make it easier to remove if it starts to ooze or something during lockdown). All eggs were strong and moving on 9/24.

What would you do?

 

[feedstorechick]

I think your okay to leave it. In order to explode, I would think it would have to be very gassy or have a lot of black swirling rotten liquid in the egg. You should have seen that when you candled it. Just my opinion.

Separating it from the other eggs, like you've already done, should be enough.

 

[Tuffoldhen]

I'd leave it in.

 

[mahalo4]

Leave it in!

 

[ladrifter]

yes leave it in

 

[FenDruadin]

Thank you! I am even more convinced it's a quitter now, though. I opened the incubator one last time to make a few adjustments, and candled a couple eggs while I was at it (it's day 18 now), and they all look great & active, and that one just looks dead and still and quiet. But I'm leaving it in anyway.

I really appreciate the feedback!

 

[juliechick]

I'd leave it, too. If there was air cell growth, then there is a chick in it. It won't explode even if the chick has died.