Something's gone wrong with my broody, please help!

[gritsar]

My broody - a nearly 10 m.o. SF - is due to hatch her chicks tomorrow. She has/had nine eggs from my older LF brahma flock.

I was just out checking on things and thought I heard a peep, so I lifted her up. I found a very thin, bloody chick under her. My first thought was that for some reason she had attacked the chick, until I examined the chick closer. The chick still has its umbillical cord attached and apparently hemorrhaged from it. I removed it from the nest to avoid contaminating the nest further. It's still alive, but just barely. I'm sure it will pass here soon.

Does this sort of thing - the umbillical cord being still attached - happen from time to time? Are the rest of my broody's eggs in danger? What action if any should I take?

TIA

 

[speckledhen]

Happens in the incubator from time to time. Most of the time, it dries up enough to detach by itself, but on occasion it gets snagged or pulled by another chick and pulls out some of the intestine. There's not much you can do to prevent it. We sometimes reach in with cuticle scissors and cut it so the chick doesn't drag the shell around with it.

 

[gritsar]

Quote:
Thanks Cyn. Is there any chance that the broody messed with it? I can't see where that would be likely, since she's mostly in her zone, just sitting quietly.

 

[Judy]

Not something I have seen, sorry. Hopefully it was just a fluke and you will still get a good hatch from the others.

 

[WriterofWords]

I do the same thing in the incubator, snip it. I had one broody that pecked it because of the blood, you know how chickens will go after blood!

 

[HorseFeatherz NV]

Poor chick, is it still bleeding? If so a bit of corn starch will help stop it.

Maybe just an early hatcher? Hope the little one pulls thru.

 

[ranchhand]

Quote:
1. Yes.

2. Not necessarily. Let nature take it's course. The thiness is likely from not having time to absorb the yolk.

3. Uhm.... make the chick comfortable and let it live or die in peace. Other than that, leave the hen alone.

The egg may have gotten cracked, causing it to hatch too early. It does happen sometimes, especially when you have hens trading eggs around, etc. I've had it happen in the incubator, too.

Good luck,

ETA, take a deep breath.

 

[NonnasBabies]

Hi, hope your little one makes it okay!!

Did it look like this??

 

[sourland]

Excellent advice from Ranchhand. The rest should be fine. Good luck.

 

[gritsar]

Thanks y'all. I've put it in the incubator so that it's warm (thank goodness brinseas warm up quickly!) but other than that I don't intend to interfere with it.

My biggest concern was that perhaps it was a fault on the part of the broody and that maybe I should remove her remaining eggs to the bator and give them back to her after they've hatched? I don't think I'll do that though, I'll just let nature take its course.