What do you think happened to this chick?

[kkhoneycutt]

One out of 10 silkie eggs never hatched so I opened it up to find out why. I found a fully formed chick with the exception of its left eye missing and what looked like the beginning of cross beak. It did have green discharge coming from its vent area, but could be where the abdomen never fully closed.

 

[Pigeony]

One out of 10 silkie eggs never hatched so I opened it up to find out why. I found a fully formed chick with the exception of its left eye missing and what looked like the beginning of cross beak. It did have green discharge coming from its vent area, but could be where the abdomen never fully closed.

The external defects (missing eye, slight crossbeak) were probably just the tip of the iceberg and there was likely something much more important not functioning correctly internally. The abdomen didn't fully close because the chick had died before it got to the point in development where that closes.