I stayed up until 4:00am with the little critter. I helped it along a little at a time hoping it do it on its own . I fianally reached a point where I thought the umbilical needed snipped because the chick was pretty much out of the shell but still attached. I snipped the cord and then waited. Very little blood. The little guy/gal was peeping a bit and trying to move around. Since I didn't have a brooder set up and the emergency room was suited for short or long term ocupancy I took the advice of some other members of the forum and put the chick back with the hen. Also I put the chick back because that is where it belonged. It eventually got under the hen and I headed for bed.
Today when I checked on my birds the little chick is still alive but way behind the others developmentally. The others are running around and eating and drinking. The late hatcher is more like stumbling around but trying. The hen does not seem to have rejected it. I'm praying for the best.
Yesterday when I cleaned out the nest box (the action that started all this) I saw what I thought was a big glob of poop in the box. I let the straw and shells sit out all night and today I dumped the mess in the chicken pen so it could incorporate into the rest of the litter. What I thought was a big glob of poop was was also a dead chick.
Count as of now for the hatch. 8 live chicks, 1 dead chick, 4 failed eggs, 1 protective momma hen.
I have a banty sitting right now. I will be more patient with this one unless I can't stand the smell. I just can't justify letting them sit in filth and rotting parts.
Things I probably should have done differently.
1. The hen started brooding in one of the nest boxes that is a bank of three boxes. I moved the entire bank of boxes to a separated part of the coop because I knew they should be separate from the rest of the flock. I should have put her in a bigger box at that time but a friend said I shouldn't because she might leave the nest. When the banty went broody I did put her in a bigger box (a small dog house) and haven't had any problems. I think a bigger box would have alleviated some of my concerns that caused me to clean out the little box she box after the (partial) hatch.
2. I should have waited before cleaning the box.
3. I should have looked closer at the eggs before attempted to candle them. I would have noticed it had pipped and I could have put it right back under the hen.
