Need Help....

[NWchickluvr]

This was our first time hatching eggs in an incubator. Thought things were going well. We put in 10 eggs in the Brinsea octagon incubator. At 18 days we took out 3 eggs that were clear and didn't look like they were fertile. Cracked them open...and they looked like normal eggs. Our first egg hatched on Friday night. Then 3 more on Saturday. So there has been 3 eggs in the incubator still till tonight. My husband thought he should take them out and look at them before disposing. One egg looked like it wasn't fertile...looked like a normal egg. Then one the chick wasn't fully developed. I didn't look at it but my husband said it's insides were on the outside of the body. So the 3rd one...he started to open the egg. The chick is alive inside it! He might have hit a blood vessel because there was blood. So put it back in the incubator for awhile. This egg didn't even have a pip hole. So then my husband tried to find where the head was so he chipped away the shell without breaking any more of the membrane. He found the head and created a hole so the chick could breathe. There isn't blood near the hole...but there is blood in the shell. The chick is still active...and we wrapped it back in a wet, warm wash cloth and put it back in the incubator. Not sure how to proceed to try to save this chick.

 

[Patchesnposies]

If there was blood the chick probably hasn't absorbed all of the yolk. Once it has absorbed there is little to no blood when the chick comes out. Give it overnight to absorb its yolk and then gently peel him out of his shell. Go slow and if you still see blood leave him a little longer. Who know it may just hatch on its own.

There is a "sticky" at the top of this forum that tells you when to intervene.

Good luck to you and your little chick!

Deb
(Hopefully, someone more knowledgeable than me will come along and give you a coherent answer!)

 

[Elite Silkies]

My best guidance would be to not mess with mother nature, but.............. I know that is too hard to do

Once you open an egg and see that the chick is still alive, you should get a damp paper towel cover the egg and put it back in the bator.

Since he opened another hole, I am not sure what to tell you at this point. Hopefully, someone can come along and give you some good advice, but I wouldn't expect the chick to make it.

 

[CCourson05]

You have done about the best you can do... Just keep a close eye on it. Good luck!

 

[NWchickluvr]

It's wrapped up and in the incubator. Oh and I guess my husband wasn't sure he found the head...he couldn't tell with the membrane. This chick has been moving but we haven't heard it peep.

 

[NWchickluvr]

oh and if my husband was opening the egg because he didn't think there was anything in there....do you think the blood could be from him hitting a blood vessel and not that the chick hasn't absorbed the yolk? Thanks for all the fast responses and help!

 

[Patchesnposies]

Quote:
Yes, he did hit a vessel that is why there was blood. My understanding is that once the yolk sac is absorbed into the intestinal area (through what we would call the umbilicus) the veins collapse and that is why there is little to no blood.

Does that make sense?

When your husband opened the egg that had an early quitter in it, what he thought was the "insides" was probably the yolk sac that was attached to the chicks abdomen.