Intervention: Helping Your Chicks Hatch

[Meadowchick]

fowlweatherfriends...my previous post was for you! Thanks!

 

[RooRidgeFarm]

fowlweatherfriends...my previous post was for you!  Thanks!

Hi, I am fowlweatherfriends (lost all my previous sign in info, so a new I'd).
Thank you for sharing your success! I absolutely love hearing that my thread has been helpful. You did a great job helping your hatch! If you get any pictures, we enjoy seeing the 'rescue' babies

 

[Meadowchick]

Here are just a few shots, I didn't take any of the actual "rescues", but every one did survive!
First chick I rescued using your method.

This guy need PT for splayed legs.

The gang at end of hatch day 1
.
My first hatch Keepers...any pullets in the Fabulous Five?*?*

I am kinda pleased about the way my plastic mayo jar feeder works
...Used a cone drill bit for 3 holes in the jar sides and then a pet-porter
wingnut to attach it to the feeder tray (bottom of lg. whipped topping bowl).

The most joyous thing to me is that all the chicks that lasted through the early egg culling process did live! I cannot even tell the rescued ones apart from the "self-hatchers". All the light chicks in the previous photo belong to my friend and I don't know what they are...she call them mutts. One of hers had curled toes which I taped to a piece of cardstock and he hops around like nothing was ever wrong..I let her take the rest of mine (Barred Rock x Dom crosses or straight Doms) also, so these 5 are all I kept from this hatching. If I got a Marans and she got a Dom, we will just swap back. Lots of fun, don't you think? I am hoping to get at least 2-3 little girls.Their legs are all fairly dark, but those head spots confuse me!

 

[RooRidgeFarm]

Here are just a few shots, I didn't take any of the actual "rescues", but every one did survive!
First chick I rescued using your method.

This guy need PT for splayed legs.

The gang at end of hatch day 1
.
My first hatch Keepers...any pullets in the Fabulous Five?*?*

I am kinda pleased about the way my plastic mayo jar feeder works
...Used a cone drill bit for 3 holes in the jar sides and then a pet-porter
wingnut to attach it to the feeder tray (bottom of lg. whipped topping bowl).

The most joyous thing to me is that all the chicks that lasted through the early egg culling process did live! I cannot even tell the rescued ones apart from the "self-hatchers". All the light chicks in the previous photo belong to my friend and I don't know what they are...she call them mutts. One of hers had curled toes which I taped to a piece of cardstock and he hops around like nothing was ever wrong..I let her take the rest of mine (Barred Rock x Dom crosses or straight Doms) also, so these 5 are all I kept from this hatching. If I got a Marans and she got a Dom, we will just swap back. Lots of fun, don't you think? I am hoping to get at least 2-3 little girls.Their legs are all fairly dark, but those head spots confuse me!

Great job and great pictures! Not sure about any pullets in the fab five...hard to tell from the pic but they are all beautiful! Your chick feeder idea is neat too! You are right about helping chicks vs self hatchers, you can rarely tell the difference after you put them together. Sometimes you will get one that takes longer to perk up, but usually they are all perky in a short time.
Thanks for the pictures-so nice to see the 'rescues'!

 

[kateplus3]

What are splayed legs? We hatched some chicks a few days ago(3 I had to assist so thank goodness for this post) but one of the other chicks that hatched fine is having issues with his/her legs, it's like they are turned the way(or it's toes are). It breaks my heart to look at it because in all other ways it is fine. I don't want to put it down, but I don't want it to suffer. Is there anything I can do to help this baby?

 

[RooRidgeFarm]

What are splayed legs? We hatched some chicks a few days ago(3 I had to assist so thank goodness for this post) but one of the other chicks that hatched fine is having issues with his/her legs, it's like they are turned the way(or it's toes are). It breaks my heart to look at it because in all other ways it is fine. I don't want to put it down, but I don't want it to suffer. Is there anything I can do to help this baby?

It's ok, sometimes it happens. I have had some success with treating it and I have had a few that needed to be put down. One thing you can do to help is administer B vitamins for chickens. They sell a liquid B complex in the chicken section at Tractor Supply. Take a dropper and administer just a couple small drops to the chick in the mouth 2x's a day. Here are some excellent sites that can help you make some leg braces etc for your chick:

http://www.2ndchance.info/spraddle.htm (This site mainly deals with other types of birds-but the same info about fixing spraddle can be used on chicks)

http://www.fresh-eggs-daily.com/2012/04/spraddle-leg.html

http://www.grit.com/animals/spraddl...rled-toes-in-chickens-causes-treatements.aspx


I hope these links help you fix the chick!

 

[sssharon]

I think humidity is the whole key to it. When it would drop I would take an eye dropper and shoot warm water down one of the incubator holes. The one with a red cap. I would dump the whole little bottle of water down onto the sponge. That always makes the humidity temp come up and you don't have to open the bator. Every the dump would go down I did the same thing. This is my first time and I am happy to say that I hatched 3 babies and hopefully the other 6 in there will hatch too. I'm keeping my fingers crossed. If not I think I had a pretty good turnout for the first time.

 

[sssharon]

I had a typo there. I meant every time the temp would go down I would add water again. Warm water also.

 

[RobinB84]

It is day 21... I have an awfully malpositioned chick. He pipped in the middle through the internal and external membrane. He was never able to zip. 8 hours later and a browning membrane, I stepped in, added moisture to the membrane and stretched the membrane out a little, he then started chirping. Two hours later-- no progress, so I remoistened the membrane and stretched it more after removing a larger window of the shell. He has visible veining. Now what do I do?? How long do I wait. It has been almost 12 hours since I first hegan the process of assisting, but I really don't wast to lose this baby.... The chick has gotten a little quieter but is still responsive to my voice and chirping on occasion. Its head appears to be behind his legs?!? I see beak and "knee joint" in the window. He pushes but can't make it happen... please help

 

[RobinB84]

I did it! Very little blood, and left him in his shell until this morning. When I pulled back thw last piece of membrane he just rolled out. He is somewhere between mad that he can't stand and happy to be out Without thia thread he would have died!!! Thank you!!! Probably be doing it again in 8 hours for another. 1st time to hatch and humidity was obviously not my forte.