Viable chick a week past due date???

[ExtraChickChick]

My broody hen hatched out two chicks last week. She has since abandoned the remaining eggs. The eggs had nothing going on in them except one. This one still has a moving chick in it. I now have it in my incubator and although it is a week late, I can see it moving when I candle it. Is there any possibility that the chick is viable? Is there such thing a a delay in formation to the extent that it started a week after the other chicks began formation? (There is no way that eggs were added late as the broody hen is housed separately from the general population. Please help!

 

[Yorkshire Coop]

Yes some can be delayed in development but a week does sound a long time but if you have seen movement something is obviously going on in there. I would candle again and try to determine how far along in incubation it is. Then leave it there just see if it does hatch if you don't you will never know. Good luck

 

[sumi]

About 3 years ago I had a batch of chicks hatch more than a week late. Broody hen semi-abandoned the nest and I left the eggs, thinking they were all dead, so you can imagine how shocked I was when I found the chicks managed to stay alive and eventually hatch. Most of them died shortly after hatching though. One did survive, for 5 months, but she didn't grow like normal. I cannot remember exactly how long her incubation lasted, but it was about a month? How on earth those chicks made it only nature will know. If your chick is still alive, give it a chance, but be open-minded, it may not make it.

 

[ExtraChickChick]

I figured it out! I was given the eggs by a friend in order to change up my bloodline a bit....The friend has DUCKS! Somehow, a small duck egg ended up in my dozen.

 

[McChickenNugget]

Haha that's too funny! What kind of duck?

 

[MrsFitzDarcy]

How funny!