Was my silkie chick dead?

[Rbbbchicn]

One of our silkies died a few weeks ago, maybe had it's necked stepped on by one of it's sisters while sleeping. It was our fav and tamest girl. So we decided to see if the remaining 3 girls would hatch one of their eggs. We haven't been able to find our candler but I used a flashlight last week and most of the eggs did not look well. We woke up the other morning and were surprised to see one of the eggs was out of the nest and half of the shell was gone. The membrane surrounding the chick was fresh and intact. It was ice cold so I figured it was dead and removed the other half of the shell and the membrane. There was a beautiful silver chick inside almost ready to hatch but I didn't see movement and it's abdomen was attached to the membrane. There was a hole poked into the remaining shell as well, not sure if one of the hens or the rooster did it. We hatched our other chicks in an incubator from eggs we bought on e bay, so this was our first experience with the hens hatching an egg. Would the rooster hurt the eggs/chick? Is it possible a hen was trying to help it get out? Should I have left it longer or placed it under the hens to be sure?

 

[azygous]

You're dealing with the whims of a small-brained animal. A hen isn't an incubator you plug in and then trust to get the job done. She may have her own agenda which may pop up after she begins to cover the eggs. Or other chicken may get in the nest, as both hens and roosters sometimes do, and the eggs manage to get broken. Once an egg is cracked, chickens will attempt to eat the contents.

When hen hatching eggs, it's best to select a trustworthy broody that is clinically broody, for starters, and then segregate the nest so other chickens can't get into it and thrash the eggs.

 

[Chicalina]

Agree. Put broody and eggs in a safe nest somewhere separate. You can reintegrate them shortly after hatch with supervision, or later on.

Too many variables letting them hatch babies inside the general flock coop.

 

[Rbbbchicn]

Well, there is something to be said for nature! Found another egg shell this morning, My daughter checked later and this little feller crawled out from under them. Thanks for the replys, I will keep an eye on them to make sure they are civil.

 

[PippinTheChicken]

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One of our silkies died a few weeks ago, maybe had it's necked stepped on by one of it's sisters while sleeping. It was our fav and tamest girl. So we decided to see if the remaining 3 girls would hatch one of their eggs. We haven't been able to find our candler but I used a flashlight last week and most of the eggs did not look well. We woke up the other morning and were surprised to see one of the eggs was out of the nest and half of the shell was gone. The membrane surrounding the chick was fresh and intact. It was ice cold so I figured it was dead and removed the other half of the shell and the membrane. There was a beautiful silver chick inside almost ready to hatch but I didn't see movement and it's abdomen was attached to the membrane. There was a hole poked into the remaining shell as well, not sure if one of the hens or the rooster did it. We hatched our other chicks in an incubator from eggs we bought on e bay, so this was our first experience with the hens hatching an egg. Would the rooster hurt the eggs/chick? Is it possible a hen was trying to help it get out? Should I have left it longer or placed it under the hens to be sure?

sorry about your silkie, sorry for your loss.

You're dealing with the whims of a small-brained animal. A hen isn't an incubator you plug in and then trust to get the job done. She may have her own agenda which may pop up after she begins to cover the eggs. Or other chicken may get in the nest, as both hens and roosters sometimes do, and the eggs manage to get broken. Once an egg is cracked, chickens will attempt to eat the contents.

When hen hatching eggs, it's best to select a trustworthy broody that is clinically broody, for starters, and then segregate the nest so other chickens can't get into it and thrash the eggs.

I agree with this