Cracked egg with chick developing??

[juci]

Hey everyone! It’s my first time asking a question on here, so bear with me. I hope this hasn’t already been asked or anything.

I’m hatching my first chicken eggs! In a little giant incubator with egg turners and fan. I noticed this egg when I candled them on Monday (day 7) I thought I saw an embryo moving in there so left the egg in. I checked it again today (day 10) and now the place where it’s cracked is bulging out externally. I knew not to set any cracked eggs in the incubator, but didn’t think to candle any of them before putting them in. I just looked for external cracks, definitely a good lesson to learn for next time.

But what should I do with this egg? Everything I’ve read says to discard cracked eggs when you notice them, but I’ve never heard of a chick starting to develop despite the crack. I candled it again today and there’s definitely a moving embryo and lots of veins. Does that mean the egg is fine? I don’t want it to explode in the incubator or anything.

These are shipped eggs, in case that helps at all. They travelled a really long distance too. I’m hoping to save as many eggs as possible so if there’s a fix for this I would be willing to try it!

Thank you in advance!!

 

[Sussex19]

Hey everyone! It’s my first time asking a question on here, so bear with me. I hope this hasn’t already been asked or anything.

Welcome!
Don't worry about asking something, even if you think it has already been asked, as everyones circumstances are different.

I know people have had cracked eggs hatch, although there is a better success rate if they get cracked latter on in the incubation.
What you can do is put plain candle wax on it, to try and seal it up.
That is what I would do, and then keep a very close eye on it. If you can see the baby moving in there, it is healthy and won't explode, because the baby wouldn't be alive for long if bacteria get in, where as it should take at least a few days before it explodes.

Hopfully other people will give there opinions as well.
Best of luck with your hatch!

 

[CloneFly]

Don't worry, the egg won't explode so long as the baby is alive and well! (Exploding eggs are due to decomposing gases/bacteria within the egg from a quitter)

With any luck, the baby should make it! Just be sure to always have *clean* hands when handling. The wax is also another way to help seal the egg- though, considering the baby's made it this far, I'd personally leave it be. Congrats on your first hatch though! It's always super exciting. Keep us updated!

 

[juci]

Welcome!
Don't worry about asking something, even if you think it has already been asked, as everyones circumstances are different.

I know people have had cracked eggs hatch, although there is a better success rate if they get cracked latter on in the incubation.
What you can do is put plain candle wax on it, to try and seal it up.
That is what I would do, and then keep a very close eye on it. If you can see the baby moving in there, it is healthy and won't explode, because the baby wouldn't be alive for long if bacteria get in, where as it should take at least a few days before it explodes.

Hopfully other people will give there opinions as well.
Best of luck with your hatch!

Thank you so much! That makes sense, I’ll try the candle wax, and keep a close eye on this one. Crossing my fingers that it makes it!

 

[juci]

Don't worry, the egg won't explode so long as the baby is alive and well! (Exploding eggs are due to decomposing gases/bacteria within the egg from a quitter)

With any luck, the baby should make it! Just be sure to always have *clean* hands when handling. The wax is also another way to help seal the egg- though, considering the baby's made it this far, I'd personally leave it be. Congrats on your first hatch though! It's always super exciting. Keep us updated!

This is good to know- about what causes the eggs to explode. I’ll definitely make sure to handle them with clean hands too, especially this egg. And I’ll update on hatch day, I’m so excited to see what happens!
Thank you so much for your help!

 

[Ridgerunner]

Don't worry, the egg won't explode so long as the baby is alive and well! (Exploding eggs are due to decomposing gases/bacteria within the egg from a quitter)

Bogus. Wrong. Dangerous misinformation.

What causes an egg to explode or leak infected material is that bacteria gets inside. The material inside the egg is a perfect food for bacteria, scientists often use egg material to culture bacteria. Incubation temperature is about perfect for most bacteria to multiply. If bacteria gets inside it will multiply, whether there is a living embryo inside or not. If bacteria is inside it will kill any living embryo. Having a living embryo will not stop bacteria from multiplying of they get inside. It does not have to be a quitter.

Not all infected eggs explode. Pressure will build up but many of them will leak a vile smelling liquid through the porous shell to relieve that pressure instead of building up all the way to an explosion.

So what can you do. I think the candle wax is a great idea. That not only seals the crack to help keep bacteria out but it also helps keep the egg from losing too much moisture through that crack. And keep things as clean as you can but that is with any egg in any incubation.

It is possible bacteria is already inside. I'd sniff that egg daily, it doesn't hurt to sniff all of them occasionally anyway. If you get the faintest hint of that rotten egg smell get rid of it. With the porous shell that should protect you.

The safest thing would be to get rid of it but I think this gives you a reasonable chance of success with that egg.

 

[juci]

Bogus. Wrong. Dangerous misinformation.

What causes an egg to explode or leak infected material is that bacteria gets inside. The material inside the egg is a perfect food for bacteria, scientists often use egg material to culture bacteria. Incubation temperature is about perfect for most bacteria to multiply. If bacteria gets inside it will multiply, whether there is a living embryo inside or not. If bacteria is inside it will kill any living embryo. Having a living embryo will not stop bacteria from multiplying of they get inside. It does not have to be a quitter.

Not all infected eggs explode. Pressure will build up but many of them will leak a vile smelling liquid through the porous shell to relieve that pressure instead of building up all the way to an explosion.

So what can you do. I think the candle wax is a great idea. That not only seals the crack to help keep bacteria out but it also helps keep the egg from losing too much moisture through that crack. And keep things as clean as you can but that is with any egg in any incubation.

It is possible bacteria is already inside. I'd sniff that egg daily, it doesn't hurt to sniff all of them occasionally anyway. If you get the faintest hint of that rotten egg smell get rid of it. With the porous shell that should protect you.

The safest thing would be to get rid of it but I think this gives you a reasonable chance of success with that egg.

Oh wow, thank you for all the info. I’ll definitely check on it every day. The sniff test is a really good idea too. It would definitely be a shame if it leaked bacteria onto the other eggs.

And I’ll definitely keep an eye on the other ones too. I’m not experienced at candling at all, I can tell a couple of them had blood rings and the infertile ones, but there are a few where I can see a mass of something but not sure if it’s moving or not. I’ll be sniffing those!

 

[juci]

Tomorrow’s day 21! I meant to update this before, right after the original post I used wax from an unscented tea candle to seal in the crack, which was around the entire egg. I candled it right before lockdown and the chick inside was definitely moving and looked to be around the right size. Thank you for that advice! I wouldn’t have thought of it.

When I took it out of the egg turner though, a chunk of the outer shell stuck to the plastic. It was really hard to get it out. it’s a little giant incubator/egg turner. Next time I’ll try to put a paper towel or something in between the wax and the turner. Hopefully the missing shell won’t be an issue- the membrane is still in tact and right now it’s the most wiggly egg at lockdown. (Top right of photo 2).

Can’t wait to see if this little one hatches.

 

[CloneFly]

Tomorrow’s day 21! I meant to update this before, right after the original post I used wax from an unscented tea candle to seal in the crack, which was around the entire egg. I candled it right before lockdown and the chick inside was definitely moving and looked to be around the right size. Thank you for that advice! I wouldn’t have thought of it.

When I took it out of the egg turner though, a chunk of the outer shell stuck to the plastic. It was really hard to get it out. it’s a little giant incubator/egg turner. Next time I’ll try to put a paper towel or something in between the wax and the turner. Hopefully the missing shell won’t be an issue- the membrane is still in tact and right now it’s the most wiggly egg at lockdown. (Top right of photo 2).

Can’t wait to see if this little one hatches.

Keep us updated! I didn't realize I popped a cracked egg into my incubator, but I now have a lil quail developing. So I can't wait to see how yours does!!

 

[MountainWoman73]

I'd also like to see if this little one hatches! I just chose to discard one that got pecked (I think by another hen, not the broody) that otherwise looked alive and normal at day 7. I decided the crack was too big for it to survive and it wasn't clean enough in the nest for wax to help. It was kind of a bummer. So I would like to see a success story.