TJAnonymous
Enabler
I have 2 broodies who are co-sharing a large nest box. Together they are sitting on 6 eggs. Tonight I went into the coop after dark and noticed a smashed egg shoved towards the front of the nesting box. You could clearly see a fully formed chick semi-sticking out of the smashed shell. I stared at it for a moment wondering how on Earth the egg was smashed like that when I realized the chick was moving and weakly chirping. I picked it up and brought it inside immediately.
It appears to have absorbed the yolk but at least half the shell was smashed and stuck to the chick so it couldn't pull it's head out from under it's wing. It was also covered in dirt and poop. It also felt cold. I very gently and carefully washed it off in warm water. Gently peeled away shrink-wrapped shell. It started to chirp more loudly but still very weak. Once it was clean, I put it in the incubator and upped humidity to help it dry.
We'll see if it survives the night. Poor thing....
It appears to have absorbed the yolk but at least half the shell was smashed and stuck to the chick so it couldn't pull it's head out from under it's wing. It was also covered in dirt and poop. It also felt cold. I very gently and carefully washed it off in warm water. Gently peeled away shrink-wrapped shell. It started to chirp more loudly but still very weak. Once it was clean, I put it in the incubator and upped humidity to help it dry.
We'll see if it survives the night. Poor thing....