Hatching Emergency- Happening right now.. need help ASAP!!

[lamNervousNellie]

my eggs started hatching late tuesday night.. 2 more hatched wednesday and 2 more hatched overnight last night. when i got up this morning another had just hatched but at least one of the other chicks was pecking it.. it has a bloody spot above it's eye and a little at the base of it's beak. i freaked out

& pulled the other 5 chicks out (who were already dry & fluffed out by now) & moved them to their brooding tank & left the 'victim' in the bator. (i was able to pull them out quickly without letting the humidity dip too low.. it was really high at that moment since a new chick had just hatched).

anyway, so now i'm freaked out about the bloody chick. do i keep her in there while the rest of the eggs keep hatching (we only set 12 and i'm predicting we'll only have a few more hatch) or should i get her outta there & cleaned up & quarentine her from the 'bullies'?

this is my first hatch, help! thanks in advance.

hannah

 

[DFCottage]

I'd leave the chick in there for a while. There is lots of circulation in that area, so hopefully it will clot up quick and heal. I think it would stress her more to be out of the bator, especially if she's still wet. Watch her carefully, and let her dry off, then take her out and maybe keep her in her own 'hospital' area with heat until it heals so the other chicks don't damage her further.

 

[miss_thenorth]

I don't have any good answer for you. Is it completely out of the shell? I would probably leave it in the bator. But chick(ens)s will peck a t the sight of blood. Alot of people have blucote to cover the redness so it doesn't get pecked more. Maybe you could leave it inthere and run to the store to get some before you transfer it to thte brooder?

 

[the_eagle69]

yep what they said leave it in there till it dries off.

 

[lamNervousNellie]

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thanks, i think this is my plan of action.

 

[lamNervousNellie]

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i'm going to call tsc (right down the street from me) & see if the have some. i was inspecting the chicks that i moved to the brooder & it looks like another one may have gotten pecked a bit also.. i'm not seeing blood but there is redness & irritation.


thanks, everyone.

 

[lamNervousNellie]

ok, i just got my injured chick out of the incubator, cleaned her wound, & applied some blu-koat.. (tsc only had the spray and since the would was so close to her eye i just sprayed some in a little dish and dabbed it on with a q-tip). she took it pretty well but right when i put her in a bucket to take her out to the brooding tank she started chirping like crazy! i mean this is no ordinary peep.. this was a chick version of a blood curdling scream!

she continued "screaming" even when i got her in the tank, and would run to my hand as soon as i put it near her. every 5-10 seconds she would stop & look around, then go right back to the ear-piercing peep. she doesn't seem to be in pain, and i'm positive that no blu-koat got into her eye. any guesses as to why she is freaking out? is the blu-koat stinging her? i'm confused since she didn't freak out when i initially put it on her. is she just mad at me because i took her out of her cozy incubator, stressed her out, & put her in a new area?

another one of the chicks (still currently in the incubator) has a wound near his eye too, but it looks more like a little gash.. i've deduced that he may have cut himself on a sharp eggshell while thrashing about trying to free himself from his own shell/umbilical cord. i have yet another seperate broody tank for him when the time comes. i'm hesitant to treat him with the blu-koat if he's going to have the same reaction as the other chick. those 'screams' are tearing out my heart

[on a seperate and happier note, we've had 8 chicks hatch out of 12 so far!

even if we don't get any more i'd be satisfied with 8 for my first hatch! i'm already in love!!!

]

BTW, i wanted to say thanks again for everyone who has helped me these past few days. as a new mama i've freaked out at every little thing along the way. if hatching chickens was 'who wants to be a millionare', all of you would be my LIFE LINES!

 

[chicknmania]

Baby is probably just scared. When the other one with the little cut dries, try dabbing him with blukote and put the two of them together. While he's drying, you could try putting a clean feather duster or a small stuffed animal with the noisy chick, to comfort him/ her.

 

[birds4me]

I have had MANY peeps who have been far more happy in my hands then in the brooder with the other chicks. Infact I am pretty sure that they would be perfectly content if I would just put them in my sweat shirt pocket and carry them around all day. Try making him a "nest" with a small towel/washcloth or blanket. My "hold me hold me hold me" chicks seem to like the confinement of my hand and sometimes wrapping them in something gives them that snuggly feeling and they settle down. Kind of like how human babies like to be wrapped snug in a blanket after they are born.

If mama hen was raising baby, then baby would be snuggling up to mom. Good luck and congrats with your new fluffies!

 

[lamNervousNellie]

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we didn't have a feather duster or a small stuffed animal, but after a little digging around we were able to find this:

she ran to him immediately! what a heart melting moment!!!

thanks for the idea!