Need help! Day 21 issues

[lwente]

Hi all, I have been a lurker for a very long time... But this is my first post.
I have a buff who went broody and we decided to give her some eggs to hatch. ( she is a great mom, she adopted 8 day old chicks last year) We put 12 under her and waited. Around day 16 (I think) I found her brooder pen open. She looked fine so I figured one of my kids opened it. On day 18 I went to check her out and realized she was short 3 eggs. I now think something got in and robbed the nest that day. Luckily Mrs. Broody was fine. So flash forward to today... Day 21. I went out this morning to check on her and this is what I found. ( see picture)
Here is my question... Does this chick look fully developed? Did she just not hatch successfully? To weak maybe? Or is this an under developed chick and mama hen maybe just crushed open the egg? And the open pen mystery maybe caused her to leaver her nest for to long?
This is my first time ever hatching my own chicks... So I have NO IDEA! any help is greatly appreciated. Thanks!

 

[Farmer Viola]

It does look fully developed.. I can't tell if it hatched itself though. Did you open the shell, or was it found just like this? The legs/feet look very twisted?

If you look at it's stomach, do you see a navel/belly button mark? This is where the "umbilical cord" attaches so at full development there should be just a tiny navel - if it is not developed, then the navel may look open and bloody, and there may also be yellow egg yolk left in the egg. that would mean it was not ready to hatch yet.

 

[lwente]

It does look fully developed.. I can't tell if it hatched itself though. Did you open the shell, or was it found just like this? The legs/feet look very twisted?

If you look at it's stomach, do you see a navel/belly button mark? This is where the "umbilical cord" attaches so at full development there should be just a tiny navel - if it is not developed, then the navel may look open and bloody, and there may also be yellow egg yolk left in the egg. that would mean it was not ready to hatch yet.

I found her still partially in the bottom half of the egg you see in the picture. The top part of the egg was nowhere to be found. Maybe mama hen ate it? I removed her from mama and then pulled her the remaining way out of the egg to take a picture.
Thank you so much for your information!

 

[lwente]

Ok so I went out to check my broody hen and her eggs again... No pipping. Today should be hatch day. So I pick up one of her eggs and guess what!!! I heard little chirps!!! Yea! I might have some that hatch yet!

 

[Farmer Viola]

Hooray!

chirping means the egg has internally pipped next it will externally pip, then zip the shell. this whole process can take 24 hours or more!

Now comes the hard part... no peeking!!

try and leave her alone for another day or two, she is going to have her own little lockdown to keep the membrane from being exposed to air. if air hits the membrane it can dry out and cause the chick to get stuck inside.
Mama hen will take it from here! Congrats!

 

[lwente]

Ok. Start of day 22... Didn't sleep well. As soon as the sun comes up I am off to check on Mrs. Broodypants. Please be some babies out there!!!

 

[sepaditty1]

Well...what did you find?

 

[lwente]

Nothing! Ahh!! So frustrated. No pipping at all... But I still heard some little cheeps. So at least one is alive. So frustrating. How long can that little guy survive without breaking through the shell?

 

[Farmer Viola]

Nothing! Ahh!! So frustrated. No pipping at all... But I still heard some little cheeps. So at least one is alive. So frustrating. How long can that little guy survive without breaking through the shell?

that's okay! they may just be a day behind cheeping is good! that means that it has internally pipped. during this time, it is breathing air for the first time. it is very important that it breathes air for 12-24 hours to acclimate, before it opens a pip hole. breathing also triggers physical changes, such as drawing all the veins into the body. everything is going as planned

edit: broody's eggs can sometimes be staggered, laid on different days (unless you collected them and set them all at the same time)

 

[lwente]

I did collect eggs for two days, left them on my kitchen counter. I then moved her to a brooder coop and gave her the eggs.