HELP! Yesterday a hen who was brooding on a hatching clutch abandoned her nest. We lost all of the chicks except one, whose shell was partially open and was peeping, but the membrane was drying out. I quickly got my incubator on to temp/humidity, put Vaseline on the dry membrane and partially opened the shell just enough to allow it to complete hatching on its own. It’s been 24hrs since it hatched, and I know it will be needing food and water. It’s still not dry completely, and it’s moving around but not as active as other chicks I have hatched at this point. I have another hen raising her chicks who are about 7 days old now, I was hoping to introduce this chick to her. But it’s very wet and cold outside, and with a bunch of busy chicks it’s unlikely she will lay on this one to warm it as it needs. And I’m worried it will get picked on as it’s not strong yet.
Would it be advisable to leave it in the incubator with a supply of food and water for now? Lower relative humidity? My brooder is very large, we normally use it for big hatches and If rather not set the whole thing up for 1-2 days, unless it’s necessary. What would you do? Incubator temp is 37.5 and relative humidity is currently at 70%
Would it be advisable to leave it in the incubator with a supply of food and water for now? Lower relative humidity? My brooder is very large, we normally use it for big hatches and If rather not set the whole thing up for 1-2 days, unless it’s necessary. What would you do? Incubator temp is 37.5 and relative humidity is currently at 70%