Why Shouldn’t You Help a Chick Hatch

by Bruce and Elaine Ingram

Why shouldn’t you help a chick hatch? In most circumstances, it’s best not to try to save late-hatched chicks.

My wife, Elaine, and I raise heritage Rhode Island Reds, and several times in the past few years, we’ve tried to “save” either chicks hatched after day 21 or ones hatched with leg issues. In the former situation, I cracked open an egg on day 23 and, expecting to discover a dead embryo, was both stunned and thrilled to observe a chick peeping faintly.

Elaine then placed the creature in an incubator, and 24 hours later, we released the bird into the henhouse with its mother and fellow chicks. As time passed, the chick remained noticeably smaller than its flock mates and was often bullied. Nevertheless, the chick survived, and my wife and I were quite smug about our husbandry miracle. Six months later, the now-pullet began to lay several eggs a week for three weeks — even though the young hen was still of smaller stature and remained “clingy” to her mother. In fact, the late-born bird frequently fed near her mother and roosted with her, as well.

That fourth week, though, the little hen began to produce soft-shelled, rubbery eggs that always broke inside a nesting box. This continued for several weeks until, one morning, when I found the former miracle chick dead inside the henhouse. Illinois’ Angie McEwen operates Chicken Scratch Poultry, and offers this analysis of that and other late-hatched chicks.

“There’s a reason that chick never came out of its shell on its own,” she said. “The fact that you had to crack that egg open means that something wasn’t quite right about the chick. It’s likely she would never have hatched on her own.

“Once in a great while, I’ve had late-born chicks hatch and survive on their own for a few days … just enough time for them to finish living off their yolks before they die. I know this will sound cruel to some. But in most circumstances, it’s best not to try to save late-hatched chicks.”

Chicks Hatched With Leg Deformities

Several times in recent years, Elaine and I have also had several chicks come into this world with various leg deformities. For example, one chick couldn’t stand on its own; its legs curled up under its lower body. A chicken-rearing friend, Christine Haxton, came to our house and devised a sling to hold up the chick and, at the same time, allow it to be close enough to access food and water.

The bird lived in a shoebox in our kitchen for several weeks, but the poor creature didn’t gain any strength in its legs. Ultimately, we decided that euthanasia was the most humane route. The next year, we had a chick that had the spraddle (also known as splay) leg condition. The splint applied did nothing to alleviate the condition, and after a week or so, we again decided that euthanasia was the best choice.
“Many chicks with leg deformities never gain the strength to move about on their own,” McEwen said. “Their little feet are curled under, and they can’t open their toes. Maybe the heat or humidity wasn’t quite right in the incubator, or maybe it was something genetically wrong. People just have to accept the fact that some chicks weren’t meant to live.”

Of course, splay leg can sometimes be corrected, although the three or four chicks we’ve encountered over the years with this condition were never able to overcome it. One chick, in particular, stands out.
The best broody hen we’ve ever had is Charlotte, a five-year-old Rhode Island Red who has gone broody every June of her adult life. She’s an attentive and dedicated mother hen who’s totally devoted to her offspring. However, several years ago, one of Charlotte’s chicks hatched with some kind of leg deformity. Several days later, I observed Charlotte with her young and noticed the chick with the weak limb struggling to keep up with the rest of its flock.

Charlotte walked over to the bird, picked it up by the leg with her beak, and slung it away from the flock. A few minutes later, the chick returned to the assemblage, and Charlotte once again flung the bird as far away as she could. The chick, this time, was fatally injured. I asked McEwen if she could explain Charlotte’s behavior.

“The mother hen knew that the chick was too weak to remain with her flock,” Angie said. “The mother tried to make things work for a while, but instinctively knew that the best thing for her flock was to remove that chick. I’ve seen a mother sheep abandon a weak lamb after trying to help it become stronger for a few days.”

In short, whether the mother is an avian or an ovine, she knows what’s best for her flock. Animal mothers accept this fact, and we humans have to, as well.

Bruce and Elaine Ingram are authors of Living the Locavore Lifestyle, a book on hunting, fishing, and gathering for food, including recipes. For more information, contact them at BruceIngramOutdoors@gmail.com

Originally published in the April/May 2025 issue of Backyard Poultry and regularly vetted for accuracy.