Anyone's help will be greatly appreciated
My pair of alexandrines laid 4 eggs and hatched 3 for now. I am guessing the hen started incubating after laying the last egg. Unfortunately, I do not have the record of when was the last egg laid, I saw the 1st one on Jan 20. All eggs are hatched (I saw the first chick on Feb 16) except the last one is still not hatching. When I candled it I saw the black chick inside and it was still making movements. This is what happened about 18 hours ago... I thought the chick needs assistance in hatching and decided to remove the shell slowly. Before I did, there were hairline cracks and three different pips which were not complete - the air would get through it. When removed the part of the eggshell I discovered that the chick is still in the membrane, the liquid and blood vessels present around it. I stopped there and did not break the membrane because the presence of liquid is not absorbed and blood vessels are still in the red. I taped the egg (not plastic tape, paper tape, and made sure it won't stick to the membrane) leaving a small pip-like hole and returned the hen. I am inspecting the egg and it is still being incubated by mom.
Could anyone help with experience in assisted hatching, please? I am not sure what to do next whether to leave it with mom or keep an eye on the egg and when to go ahead to assist with hatching.
My pair of alexandrines laid 4 eggs and hatched 3 for now. I am guessing the hen started incubating after laying the last egg. Unfortunately, I do not have the record of when was the last egg laid, I saw the 1st one on Jan 20. All eggs are hatched (I saw the first chick on Feb 16) except the last one is still not hatching. When I candled it I saw the black chick inside and it was still making movements. This is what happened about 18 hours ago... I thought the chick needs assistance in hatching and decided to remove the shell slowly. Before I did, there were hairline cracks and three different pips which were not complete - the air would get through it. When removed the part of the eggshell I discovered that the chick is still in the membrane, the liquid and blood vessels present around it. I stopped there and did not break the membrane because the presence of liquid is not absorbed and blood vessels are still in the red. I taped the egg (not plastic tape, paper tape, and made sure it won't stick to the membrane) leaving a small pip-like hole and returned the hen. I am inspecting the egg and it is still being incubated by mom.
Could anyone help with experience in assisted hatching, please? I am not sure what to do next whether to leave it with mom or keep an eye on the egg and when to go ahead to assist with hatching.
