Chick not hatched.

MungBean

Have a hen and she hatched 5 chicks last night. When she left the nest there was two eggs that didnt hatch left behind. I check them and one had a live chick so I brought both inside and put them under a bulb.

Its pecking a little bit and chirping inside the egg but considering the rest came out last night and this one was left cold for a number of hours, should I help it out of the shell ? And if so how would I go about it ?

Themadhouse

www.thepoultrykeeper.co.uk
Ask there, its a good site.

Graces7

Skunkle wrote: »

Have a hen and she hatched 5 chicks last night. When she left the nest there was two eggs that didnt hatch left behind. I check them and one had a live chick so I brought both inside and put them under a bulb.

Its pecking a little bit and chirping inside the egg but considering the rest came out last night and this one was left cold for a number of hours, should I help it out of the shell ? And if so how would I go about it ?

Hve done this many times.. Remember that eggs are laid not all on the same day so this can happen easily..

Great care and slowly does it. You need to start cracking the shell at the end where the beak is. If you start at the wrong end the chick can bleed to death. When you can see the wee beak, when it pecks, just peel a wee bit more of the shell back as it pushes; it is like contractions. Little by little just help it break loose. It is just tired and cold is all so keep it warm.

Mothman

This is tough, mainly because while the heat may be right, the humidity is likely to be way too low and in my experience the chick may not hatch successfully. I don't know how, but if you can get it in a really humid environment of 37C, this is the best chance. Otherwise it'll dry out and the hatch will likely fail.

Its a pity the hen left because the hatched chicks would be fine for a couple days.

MungBean

Thanks for the input, he made the initial break himself. I broke away a bit more around that when he didnt make much progress and he eventually came out. Fluffed up and chirping away now.

Ya reckon he be ok if I put him back with the rest in the morning ? The mother wouldnt reject him would she ?

Graces7

Skunkle wrote: »

Thanks for the input, he made the initial break himself. I broke away a bit more around that when he didnt make much progress and he eventually came out. Fluffed up and chirping away now.

Ya reckon he be ok if I put him back with the rest in the morning ? The mother wouldnt reject him would she ?

Well done and great,

It could go either way with the hen; I used to wait until dark and then put the late chick back with the hen when she was sleeping with the others. Just tucked the new one under her wing. Once I had to take the chick back in as it was two days behind the others and could not keep up. That one became a pet chick!

Try today and if she does not take to it, wait until darkfall; I once created artificial night with a blanket to get a hen to accept a late hatcher.

Graces7

Mothman wrote: »

This is tough, mainly because while the heat may be right, the humidity is likely to be way too low and in my experience the chick may not hatch successfully. I don't know how, but if you can get it in a really humid environment of 37C, this is the best chance. Otherwise it'll dry out and the hatch will likely fail.

Its a pity the hen left because the hatched chicks would be fine for a couple days.

At this stage that does not matter. It is simply help with maybe a hard shell. Earlier in incubation is of course a different matter.

Earlier in incubation, you can simply wet the eggs when the hen is feeding/Nature is not an exact science in this. I have had clutches hatch over five days.

MungBean

Put the chick out today and he nor the hen looked too pushed about each other. Took him back in as he looked to be getting cold and the hen wasnt interested. I'll try again tonight and poke him underneath her.

Graces7

Skunkle wrote: »

Put the chick out today and he nor the hen looked too pushed about each other. Took him back in as he looked to be getting cold and the hen wasnt interested. I'll try again tonight and poke him underneat outh her.

Awww,, been there done that so many times! One hen was a fiesty madam and there was no way she was about to accept any chicks from me. This was her first clutch , and she was not skilled. Two chicks had been crushed against the remaining eggs, so I took the rest out and hatched them indoors. She pecked them I tried to out them back.. so I created dark night with a blanket, waited until she was asleep, then tucked them in under her wing.

Nothing more peaceful than the night sounds of a hen and chicks.

Does not always work so you may find yourself with a very silly and devoted pet, which is great fun also