Chick pipped wrong end, tried to help, now stuck in remaining egg

[Pinkyl321]

Hi all,

I’ve been having a problem with a chick egg and it’s gotten really bad and this is my last desperate attempt to see if anything can be done. I am not experienced in this area and have spent two days now reading as much as possible.

My sister is a preschool teacher who was given eggs and an incubator. The date they were scheduled to hatch was Thursday and she saw nothing. On Friday morning, one had broken through the egg. Nothing happened all day, he chirped and was moving but couldn’t break anymore of the shell. Come Saturday (today), it had been over 24 hours and no progress.
We finally decided to try to help him because it seemed the membrane was turning very brown so we chipped away the shell around where his beak was. At this point, we could see his head and one foot. I read a guide on here that said if there wasn’t any blood vessels showing to peel back the membrane over the egg so we did that as well. I am going to attach a picture of what’s happening. We can see both legs but it seems like he’s stuck in the back or stuck to the membrane because he’s still not fully out. He’s been chirping a lot still. It looks like his legs are shaking, probably since he’s still trying. It’s been about two/three hours since we did anything. Is there any hope or something that can be done to help him out further?

 

[ste1995]

Hi did you increase humidity for the chicks ready to hatch? That could be why the chick is/was stuck and the membrane was going brown.. if your still in the same situation maybe try add a touch more water to incubator and see if the increase in humidity can help remove membrane?

 

[Pinkyl321]

Hi did you increase humidity for the chicks ready to hatch? That could be why the chick is/was stuck and the membrane was going brown.. if your still in the same situation maybe try add a touch more water to incubator and see if the increase in humidity can help remove membrane?

The incubator we were given doesn’t have any measure of humidity so we don’t really know where that at. We added more water earlier (about 12 or 1 maybe when we started to try to help him) but not since. Because we can’t measure it, we’re not really sure how much water to add.

 

[ste1995]

The incubator we were given doesn’t have any measure of humidity so we don’t really know where that at. We added more water earlier (about 12 or 1 maybe when we started to try to help him) but not since. Because we can’t measure it, we’re not really sure how much water to add.

Just get a small dish or bowl and put a little a bit of water in it, don’t fill it.. be sure to keep it out of reach from the chicks. Just keep an eye on the chick also as it may work it’s way out on its own but for now if I were you would just add a small bowl of water.

 

[BirdsBeesTrees]

Are you talking about that piece of membrane on the chicks back? If you are just take the chick out and put warm water over it until you can get it loose, pull it off carefully and then gently blow dry the chick so it doesn't chill.

 

[Pinkyl321]

Just get a small dish or bowl and put a little a bit of water in it, don’t fill it.. be sure to keep it out of reach from the chicks. Just keep an eye on the chick also as it may work it’s way out on its own but for now if I were you would just add a small bowl of water.

Okay I will try that now

 

[Pinkyl321]

Are you talking about that piece of membrane on the chicks back? If you are just take the chick out and put warm water over it until you can get it loose, pull it off carefully and then gently blow dry the chick so it doesn't chill.

Yes, the membrane seems to be stuck to him and there is still a part of the egg on his back, which isn’t shown in the picture. We tried to pull the membrane off earlier with warm water, but it didn’t seem to be doing much and we worried we were doing more harm than good.

 

[Pinkyl321]

Are you talking about that piece of membrane on the chicks back? If you are just take the chick out and put warm water over it until you can get it loose, pull it off carefully and then gently blow dry the chick so it doesn't chill.

Here’s another picture if you have any advice. We trying to wet it more now but it’s still stuck.

 

[BirdsBeesTrees]

I didn't see that it still doesn't have it's yolk sack absorbed... that changes things. Put some coconut oil or I use aquafor all over any membrane you can get to and leave it in the incubator to rest.

 

[Pinkyl321]

I didn't see that it still doesn't have it's yolk sack absorbed... that changes things. Put some coconut oil or I use aquafor all over any membrane you can get to and leave it in the incubator to rest.

I don’t know if we have any of that in the house, is there any other alternatives? We waited over 24 hours before doing anything which is what we had read was recommended. He’s been flailing around trying to break free and it’s just so upsetting to hear and see.