Weak Chick?! Help!!!

[Olivekat07]

View attachment 1445300 To locate an internal pip you have to candle the egg(shine a light through it) and fine a spot that looks like this. At the little triangle shadow, carefully drill a small hole in the shell and let the chick breath, leave it for an hour or so and if it hasn't made any progress the completely zip the shell for it.

Oooo there are signs of life! Awesome!

UPDATE 2!!
There were originally 12 eggs under Cookies (my broody hen) and she cracked a few and now she is down to 6. I poked a hole on the airsack side on all of them, 2 were dead, and 3 were about to explode. On the weak chick egg, when I poked a hole, I saw the beak poking through the airsack!! I saw it breathing too!! Life!! Finally!! I’ll post a pic of the egg later!!

 

[nightowl223]

Remember, the more you mess with the egg, especially after it pips, the more you risk either shrinkwrapping it, or introducing germs. Just a reminder. Shrinkwrapped babies are very sad things to encounter.

 

[NonnasBabies]

UPDATE!!!
I just heard the 3 first chirps from the egg!!

 

[NonnasBabies]

The only thing I can say is I've never messed with eggs under a broody. I've always let mama take care of her babies. Now the incubator is a different story!! I really hope your baby makes it.

 

[Zizix123]

I have a broody hen 7 eggs left and one was in the process of hatching and she was stepping on it chicks cheeping but there is blood on the egg I have another that has just piped. She has killed 4 chics by standing on them 3 hatched and doing well but I had to move eggs out of the way each time. I do not have an incubator but do have a plastic container and heating pad there are viable chicks in the eggs that havent hatched yet and I don't want any more losses because she stepped on them.

 

[chickengeorgeto]

I have a broody OE sitting on 5 or 6 eggs that has been under her for about 22-24 days now and one of them is definitely alive. Each time I tap my fingernail on the egg I hold it up to my ear and hear pecking noises. The egg shell is pretty thin, so I would think that it would hatch pretty easy. The chicken that it’s from is from my speckled Sussex or my English Orpington. Should I help it? All of the times I’ve helped chicks out of the egg, they turned out the healthiest out of all of the chickens that I hatched from that batch. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!!

It is up to you. I just have a couple thoughts.
About 85% of the time I've helped chicks, they didn't survive. I only help if I think they failed because of my poor incubation.
I have never helped a broody hens' eggs. They make it or they don't. If a broody can't hatch them naturally, they aren't meant to hatch. There are lots of reasons an embryo won't make it. Breeder nutrition being only one of them.
That is very late. Is there any way the eggs were kept cool during incubation?

Blood on the inside of a just pipped egg is a bad omen.
My experience with helping chicks hatch is the same as ChickenCanoe's, maybe worst.
In My Humble Opinion the best way to breed chickens that are unable to live and do well on their own is to help chicks who have a weak gene in their DNA out of the egg.

 

[Olivekat07]

UPDATE 3
The chick was a little over half way hatching and then Cookies crushed the egg and killed the baby. I was really looking forward to it hatching.

 

[amelia413]

I'm sorry for your loss

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Blood on the inside of a just pipped egg is a bad omen.
My experience with helping chicks hatch is the same as ChickenCanoe's, maybe worst.
In My Humble Opinion the best way to breed chickens that are unable to live and do well on their own is to help chicks who have a weak gene in their DNA out of the egg.

I couldn't agree more.
Chicks that are unable to hatch on their own are sure to beget chicks that are unable to hatch on their own.
When I have a setting hen, I forget about her for 3 weeks. Then I go back to count chicks. She innately knows more about incubating than I ever will in a lifetime of incubating.
We sometimes forget that hens have been setting and chicks have been hatching for millions of years with no human intervention whatsoever.
When I hear about hens that have crushed eggs, killed or injured chicks, it usually coincides with someone intervening in some way. Whether that be candling, looking for pips or even pulling a hen off to eat or drink. They DO NOT need to be forced to eat and drink. And when hatching is imminent, that is the absolute worst time to handle the eggs. A hen sitting tight will retain the humidity around the egg.
If it is bad to open an incubator as hatching begins, it is just as bad to handle eggs under a hen at the same time.
That's why people call it lockdown.

 

[Olivekat07]

I'm sorry for your loss

Thank you.