One of our Delawares went broody in the barn several weeks ago and I put her on top of nine eggs. She's been doing great in there despite the heat of 100+ for the last week or more. They are on day 19 I'm pretty sure, although honestly I cannot remember exactly when I put them under her. It was right before we went on vacation and I forgot to write it down.
Today, while she was taking a break from sitting, my normally wonderful, lazy, faithful dog snuck in there and grabbed an egg out of her nest! My daughter (6) discovered this, and got the egg away from the dog and put her inside.
There's only about 70% of the shell left and what's left was cracked/broken all over, you could see the baby chick inside and it was stirring slightly. In an effort to "set it back to life" my daughter, thinking very quickly I thought for a six-year-old, put the egg inside a small plastic jell-o dish, covered it with a washcloth and set it in the shade outside on the porch. It was over 100 out and she said she thought it would cook if she left it in the sun!
She came inside to tell me the whole ordeal, I could see the small yellow chick was breathing inside, so I decided to fire up the incubator and see if we could save it. I fired up my Little Giant and fiddled with it for 45 mins or so to get the temp right (those of you who use them know how finnicky they can be). I filled up all the reservoirs with lukewarm water and put a wet rag in there to keep the humidity up high since the shell was so badly damaged.
I gently put the broken egg inside, enough of the shell has fallen off at this point I can see the peeper's head and its chest is rising up and down.
Once I got this one settled I went to check on the broody's nest, and discovered another egg the dog must have nipped at, or picked up and dropped, it was completely crushed in on one side, I can see black feathers and a small amount of blood. Pretty sure this poor chick is dead already but I'm sticking it in the bator with the other one just in case.
Been about 12 hours since I went through all this and the yellow chick is peeping every so often, mostly just laying there. 2 days premature! I can't see the belly area so hopefully the yolk sacks are still there for these little buggers, and they can continue developing even with cracked shells.
Anyone had any experience like this before? Is it likely they'll survive?
My big question is how do I re-introduce them to their mother? I'd like to get them back with their brothers and sisters so my broody can do her thing . . . if I wanted to take care of baby chicks I'd have just use the bator in the first place!
Here's the egg/chick in the jello cup my daughter rescued it in:
Here it is in the bator:
Today, while she was taking a break from sitting, my normally wonderful, lazy, faithful dog snuck in there and grabbed an egg out of her nest! My daughter (6) discovered this, and got the egg away from the dog and put her inside.
There's only about 70% of the shell left and what's left was cracked/broken all over, you could see the baby chick inside and it was stirring slightly. In an effort to "set it back to life" my daughter, thinking very quickly I thought for a six-year-old, put the egg inside a small plastic jell-o dish, covered it with a washcloth and set it in the shade outside on the porch. It was over 100 out and she said she thought it would cook if she left it in the sun!
She came inside to tell me the whole ordeal, I could see the small yellow chick was breathing inside, so I decided to fire up the incubator and see if we could save it. I fired up my Little Giant and fiddled with it for 45 mins or so to get the temp right (those of you who use them know how finnicky they can be). I filled up all the reservoirs with lukewarm water and put a wet rag in there to keep the humidity up high since the shell was so badly damaged.
I gently put the broken egg inside, enough of the shell has fallen off at this point I can see the peeper's head and its chest is rising up and down.
Once I got this one settled I went to check on the broody's nest, and discovered another egg the dog must have nipped at, or picked up and dropped, it was completely crushed in on one side, I can see black feathers and a small amount of blood. Pretty sure this poor chick is dead already but I'm sticking it in the bator with the other one just in case.
Been about 12 hours since I went through all this and the yellow chick is peeping every so often, mostly just laying there. 2 days premature! I can't see the belly area so hopefully the yolk sacks are still there for these little buggers, and they can continue developing even with cracked shells.
Anyone had any experience like this before? Is it likely they'll survive?
My big question is how do I re-introduce them to their mother? I'd like to get them back with their brothers and sisters so my broody can do her thing . . . if I wanted to take care of baby chicks I'd have just use the bator in the first place!
Here's the egg/chick in the jello cup my daughter rescued it in:
Here it is in the bator:
