prematurely born chick; need advice for if it ever happens again :-(

[normanack]

And the saga (such as it is) continues:

Two days after I put that last marked egg under Quoth, it was gone. I searched the bedding and no egg.

Two days later it was back under her again. She's still sitting on it, almost a week later. No idea where it was in the meantime, but the coop is big and the bedding is deep.

By now it must be bad -- I'm sure it's too old, or got too cold for too long -- but I learned my lesson. I'm not taking it away until I have to wipe it off the walls (assuming it explodes).

 

[Pele]

Unforunately chicks who do not fully absorb their yolks need to be immediately immobilized. If they are not, and are allowed to try to kick and stand, the results are grizzly and heartbreaking. Their deaths are not kind nor fast. I learned this the hard way, and it broke my heart. I put my chick down rather than let it have a long end.

 

[normanack]

It was heart-breaking for me, too. Poor wee thing. Thank you for the additional information.