It's been 37 hours - should I assist? Update - Chick dead.

[QueenofKings]

Now, if you've been following my posts in the First Hatch of the Year thread, you'd know that I had a malpositioned chick that pipped the wrong end.

This chick pipped on the smaller end on Monday at 11AM. I let it be for 12 hours and moved in to remove a bit of the outer shell at 11PM on that same Monday. (I did not remove the other memebrane at all, merely chipped at the shell so as to see the existing pip better.)

Today, at 11AM, the chick was still alive and peeping. I candled and decided to open up the air cell end of the egg so I would be able to asses the inner membrane. I opened up quite a bit (by accident, since it I could break it in a nice little line), dabbed a bit of water and noticed very red and deep veining and left it be.

Later on, I had to move the egg inside the tupper of water (with napkins inside to soak up all the water) since it was being rolled and pecked at by the other chicks. A blood vessel had been pecked at and there was an instance of blood, which I sprinkled corn starch over. I decided then to refrain from assisting until 11PM, to give it a chance to hatch on its on. I checked on it at around 10:30PM and it was still alive and breathing and moving inside.

At this moment, I've allowed myself to be swayed by the fambam and decided to leave it be until tomorrow morning (11AM, the 48 hour mark).

So should I assist or prepare to cull?

 

[sumi]

Read this: https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/step-by-step-guide-to-assisted-hatching Good luck!

 

[QueenofKings]

I've been reading that for the past few days over and over again. Thank though sumi!

I keep dabbing water on the membrane, it still looks very dark to me - however, this might be from the pecked blood vessel or because, from what I could see of the pip, the chick has very dark feathers/fluff.

I've let it be for now - it is still alive and breathing.

 

[sumi]

The membrane should be transparent and any blood vessels clearly visible. If I'm unsure I remove a bit more of the shell and look at a "fresh" part of the membrane. Try on a different part and if you can take a pic so we can see?

 

[QueenofKings]

I will attempt that. So far, that chick is holding up fine. I had to help another one that had its legs trapped and it was unable to zip and continued to create a bigger and bigger pip. Its navel is exposed (just a little bit) so I'm letting it rest in the incubator for the time being so it can dry.

I will take a picture of the other egg in a few minutes.

 

[QueenofKings]

The bits of cracked shell occured after I opened the air cell. The little chick has been fighting to get out. I am unable to open it any more since I think I'm getting really close to the membrane. The inner membrane is currently dry in these pictures.




The chick I just helped right now has detached from the egg shell (it is walking, chirping and being obnoxious) and I am waiting on it to dry out and for the navel to dry as well. This is what the shell looked like - the inner membrane was very yellow, so I suspect a bacterial infection of some sort. The reason for the assist was that it was unable to rotate. It had its foot outside of the shell, as in, sticking out of the external pip. Once I removed the shell, I saw that the chick had its head tucked under a wing but had both of its feet positioned by the air cell.

Now, for the last chick. (I've been determined to hold off assistance until the last possible moment) has been zipping for the majority of the morning. It stops to take breaks however, like the chick I have just helped, the membrane is very yellow and brown.



It keeps rolling about as its trying to zip.

 

[sumi]

O.K. The first one, where is the chick's beak? I cannot tell much from that pic, sorry! Can you dampen the inner membrane and show/tell me what you see? Try and keep that membrane as damp as possible, just be careful around the chick's beak.

The second chick. What does it's navel look like?

The third one, keep the humidity up in there, so it's membrane doesn't dry out and keep an eye on it. If it shows signs of being in distress, other than the normal aggravated chirps they sometimes come up with, see if it needs help. I've had chicks take their sweet time when zipping in the past, so I won't worry unless it's trying very hard and not making any progress.

 

[QueenofKings]

The chick's beak is up on the smaller end of the egg. The hole on the side where it is surrounded by the intact outer membrane.

For the second chick, it detached from the shell and it has a stringy material attached to its navel. The navel itself is red and jutting out, yiu cant see it very well in the picture. The chick is alternating between trying to sleep and chirping very loudly and walking around. It can stand succesfully at the moment.

 

[sumi]

That, I call it an "umbilical cord", is normal. It should detach by itself soon. It's behaviour sounds normal for a newly hatched chick. I would have a look at the navel and the surrounding area once the cord detached.

 

[QueenofKings]

Just checked up on the chicks. The chicks in the brooder are falling asleep. (There's only 3 of them.)

The one with the umbilical cord still has it attached, but it seems as though he's finally calming down and trying to sleep or rest. The one who's air cell I exposed, he's trying to break through the inner membrane at the moment. Either he's already broken through with his leg or he's preparing to. In the picture I posted earlier, it shows a relatively dry membrane with that huge spot of blood. When I saw his leg (or maybe it was a wing?) , it had stretched it and you could see the color of his skin. I'll continue to leave him be since he's becoming more active than usual.

The other egg, the one that was zipping has taken another break. I'm assuming both are being encouraged by the chick that made it out of its egg.