Help!! I drew blood in the egg membrane of a hatching chick and I don't know what to do!

[ChickenTender1203]

I am a first time chicken owner and we have just had our first hatch; we got our chickens in June of 2021. Today we noticed that my broody hen, Waffles, had hatched 2/5 eggs that had first been laid (a sixth egg had been laid at some point by another chicken). We set up a dog crate in the coop for her and I moved her nest with the chicks and other eggs (we added 3 new ones 4 days ago). As I was putting the eggs back with her, I noticed an egg chirping. It has a tiny slit in the shell and the area around it was a bit dark. I removed some of the shell and tried to pull it back a little to make the hole larger for them and it started to bleed. I left it and put the egg back under her but I don't know if the chick is going to be okay or not and I dont know what I am supposed to do to help. These pictures were taken after I tried to help.View attachment 3019936View attachment 3019937

 

[JacinLarkwell]

Don't touch it anymore. The veins aren't done receding so they're not ready to hatch

 

[EggSighted4Life]

We set up a dog crate in the coop for her and I moved her nest with the chicks and other eggs (we added 3 new ones 4 days ago)

She can't raise hatched chicks and sit on a new clutch of eggs at the same time.. you need to remove those new eggs or remove the hatched chicks if you want her to continue sitting.. Both staying is a recipe for disaster as she has to decide which is more important.

I would leave the egg alone for a period of time (maybe 24 more hours.. it hatches or it doesn't. I've also made embryo's bleed.. some hatch into chicks and others fail. Hopefully yours proves to be a hatcher survivor!

Congratulations on your hen mum and her new babies and welcome to BYC!

 

[Allsfairinloveandbugs]

Helping a chick hatch that didn't need any help is a timeless mistake that many others have made before you, and many others will make after you have learned better. Even though a chick has externally pipped, (that small slit you saw) it can take another 24 hours or so before its veins and egg yolk have absorbed.

For now there's nothing you can do but leave it under the broody tonight and wait. Depending on how much the membrane bled, the chick may be just fine, may be a bit weakened due to blood loss, or may have bled out too much to recover, & the chick will die.

It looks like you pulled off quite a bit of shell, leaving a large surface area of membrane exposed. If the membrane dries out, the chick may not be able to escape out of the tough hardened membrane. At that point you may in fact need to help the chick hatch. But not tonight. Glue your hands to your side if necessary, but dont touch that egg. Post back here tomorrow morn and give an update as to how the chick is doing, and wait until you get advice from someone here before taking further action. Hoping the chick will be ok.

 

[ChickenTender1203]

Helping a chick hatch that didn't need any help is a timeless mistake that many others have made before you, and many others will make after you have learned better. Even though a chick has externally pipped, (that small slit you saw) it can take another 24 hours or so before its veins and egg yolk have absorbed.

For now there's nothing you can do but leave it under the broody tonight and wait. Depending on how much the membrane bled, the chick may be just fine, may be a bit weakened due to blood loss, or may have bled out too much to recover, & the chick will die.

It looks like you pulled off quite a bit of shell, leaving a large surface area of membrane exposed. If the membrane dries out, the chick may not be able to escape out of the tough hardened membrane. At that point you may in fact need to help the chick hatch. But not tonight. Glue your hands to your side if necessary, but dont touch that egg. Post back here tomorrow morn and give an update as to how the chick is doing, and wait until you get advice from someone here before taking further action. Hoping the chick will be ok.

I did not check on the chicks this morning (my sister did though) but I came home after school around 3 and we had 3 chicks! Although they do seem to be a bit weaker than the other two. However, that may be to age as we are not entirely sure exactly when the other two hatched, sometime within the past two days since we found them yesterday and my mom did not notice the chick earlier. They do have a large spot of poop from the mama on them, I'm not sure I should try to clean it off quite yet or wait till they are stronger. I took out the three eggs we put under five days ago, but I left the other three in there, in case they are just late. Here is a picture of the three chicks, the one that just hatched is on the bottom right.

 

[Allsfairinloveandbugs]

They are adorable, as all little chicks are The two latest hatchees may seem weaker than the first, but that is only because it is hard work escaping from their shells, & they need a little time to rest and recover. Once they are 24 hours old, they will be a lot more active

Do you have chick starter feed, and a chick feeder and waterer available for mama hen to show her chicks how to eat and drink? Have the chicks eaten anything yet?

 

[Allsfairinloveandbugs]

They do have a large spot of poop from the mama on them, I'm not sure I should try to clean it off quite yet or wait till they are stronger.

It is best if broody poop doesn't get on the chicks, but even more important for the chicks to not be wet and chilled. In your chick photo, i don't see a large amount of poop on any chick, but there may be some on the brown chick standing next to the white one? When you get a chance, post a picture of the "large spot of poop from the mama on them." That way people here can advise you whether there is an immediate need to clean off the poop, or if cleaning can wait.

 

[ChickenTender1203]

They are adorable, as all little chicks are The two latest hatchees may seem weaker than the first, but that is only because it is hard work escaping from their shells, & they need a little time to rest and recover. Once they are 24 hours old, they will be a lot more active

Do you have chick starter feed, and a chick feeder and waterer available for mama hen to show her chicks how to eat and drink? Have the chicks eaten anything yet?

I do have water and feed set up next to the mama, but I have only actually seen the yellow chick eat so far. I checked on

the chicks later after we first had the third chick hatch and there didnt seem to be any poop, it looked as if it had been wet but it didnt feel wet , although I'm not sure if it is from hatching or something else

 

[Allsfairinloveandbugs]

It's ok if the newer hatched chicks haven't eaten yet. Newly hatched chicks don't really get hungry until 48 hours after they have hatched. As long as food and water are available, their momma hen will show them where to eat. As far as poop on the 3rd chick, you are probably right it looked damp because it hadn't completely dried from from hatching when you found it

It sounds like momma hen and her new chicks are doing great. And you are doing a great job taking care of them. The chicks are soooo cute. Have fun watching them grow!

 

[Queen of the Roost]

I

Helping a chick hatch that didn't need any help is a timeless mistake that many others have made before you, and many others will make after you have learned better. Even though a chick has externally pipped, (that small slit you saw) it can take another 24 hours or so before its veins and egg yolk have absorbed.

For now there's nothing you can do but leave it under the broody tonight and wait. Depending on how much the membrane bled, the chick may be just fine, may be a bit weakened due to blood loss, or may have bled out too much to recover, & the chick will die.

It looks like you pulled off quite a bit of shell, leaving a large surface area of membrane exposed. If the membrane dries out, the chick may not be able to escape out of the tough hardened membrane. At that point you may in fact need to help the chick hatch. But not tonight. Glue your hands to your side if necessary, but dont touch that egg. Post back here tomorrow morn and give an update as to how the chick is doing, and wait until you get advice from someone here before taking further action. Hoping the chick will be ok.

f a bucnch of membrane is exposed after trying to help put coconut oil on the membrane to keep it from drying out. Have had several assisted hatches this way and only 2 didn’t make it and I honestly think I intervened too soon on those 2 and it was my fault. But some just won’t hatch unless you help