I have a Nankin bantam egg that was badly damaged while I was changing food and water for our broody. Mama was sweet and snuggly buff bantam cochin until her first chick hatched. Now Gem is GemZilla. I was not expecting a violent attack, but she jumped at me, landing hard on her nest. One egg has a pip-like crack, but no hole. The other is badly crushed on one end and the membrane is definitely disturbed. There's blood seeping, not much, but enough to know that we have an issue. The best/worst part is that both chicks are close to lockdown and still alive! I've dripped wax over the cracks/holes and moved them and the one undamaged egg to the incubator, for now. I don't have pictures, yet, as it all happened really quickly. I'll try to get them in the morning.
I'm hoping I can nurse these two along for at least a day or two, but I have a serious concern. One of the broken eggs is very dirty and there is a serious concern over bacteria ... especially in the incubator, where the humidity is high.
So ... Please ... has anyone dealt successfully with this before?
Should I remove the damaged pieces of the shell and coat what's left of the membrane with coconut oil?
Should I adjust temperatures or humidity? Humidity is still climbing, but nearly at 70 %, right now. Temp is almost to the "usual" 99.5.
Should I "cup" them on the unbroken half of the shell?
Help! I wanna save my babies!
I'm hoping I can nurse these two along for at least a day or two, but I have a serious concern. One of the broken eggs is very dirty and there is a serious concern over bacteria ... especially in the incubator, where the humidity is high.
So ... Please ... has anyone dealt successfully with this before?
Should I remove the damaged pieces of the shell and coat what's left of the membrane with coconut oil?
Should I adjust temperatures or humidity? Humidity is still climbing, but nearly at 70 %, right now. Temp is almost to the "usual" 99.5.
Should I "cup" them on the unbroken half of the shell?
Help! I wanna save my babies!