(before you read I want you to know I'm sorry it's so long but I want you to PLEASE finish reading!!! I need help!!!)
Hi I'm new to the forum and new to birds in general! I've never hatched anything before and I wasn't even prepared for hatching this bird! I found it in the first days of development in a pile of mulch that was delivered to my house a day or 2 prior. I built an incubator and put it in that and 30 days later the bird was alive and pipped!
So after it pipped, 48 hours later it had made very little progress and wasn't zipping. My family and I made the hard decision to try and help it. I know some people may not agree with this, but it would've died if we didn't do it, and I wasn't about to give up on it. The membrane had turned dry and brown and we think that our incubator may have experienced some humidity issues. We think it developed the issue some may know as "sticky chick" or "sticky egg" where it gets stuck to the egg and the membrane begins to harden on the egg like glue or cement. Know that we thought long and hard about helping it and we researched the risks. Honestly I was terrified. We carefully took off little pieces VERY SLOWLY and moistened the membrane with coconut oil and sterile warm water, and looked out for signs of unclosed blood vessels and unabsorbed yolk. It was shaking and chirping and trying so hard to push and we saw no signs of underdevelopment from what we could see. So we zipped the egg for it and it ended up finishing pushing out of the egg on its own. All seemed well at that point...
But when it came out, we saw it had a small mass on its underside. At first it looked like a prolapse and we thought it could be since it was pushing so hard trying to hatch. But after some more research we believe that it's the result of the bird not fully absorbing the yolk. We also read that when the membrane becomes so dry like it was, it can make it more difficult for the bird to absorb all of the yolk. So in an attempt to try to help the bird absorb the rest of the yolk, we wrapped it up burrito-style in warm, wet paper towels and let it sit. After a few hours we went back to check on it and the bulge looked noticeably smaller, but not gone. It was originally the size of a lima bean and it went down to about the size of a large pea or an edamame bean. But I still am really worried about this and I want to know if there's anything else I can do to help it.
Another thing that happened when it hatched is that one of its legs seems as if it's stuck in its fetal position. It is bent, close to the body, and it even looks like it could be backwards! But maybe that's just the angle. Anyways, it won't stretch out and as a result, the bird cannot stand up. I can't find ANYTHING about this on the internet and I have no clue what to do! I've had people tell me to wait, I saw something about giving it vitamins, so my husband went out to Tractor Supply and got a vitamin supplement you mix with water and give to the bird. I have been giving it water by putting its head in a small bowl of water and using a dropper to put it in its mouth. I really don't know what to do about it though. I need help!!! I've never hatched anything before or even really owned a bird! I owned a rooster for a few weeks before because it was attacking my friend's hens and she needed someone to take it, but it was too aggressive to keep at my house since we have small children so it was sent to a farm with many many hens so hopefully he's a little less aggressive now
Anyways, I am very worried about this bird and I don't want to just give up on it. It has been chirping, drinking water, eating, moving around, and it looks very lively. It seems strong and like it has potential to live. It's also very cute! <3 I will be grateful for any insight or advice you can give me! I don't want to give up on this little buddy just yet! If you are reading this thank you for lasting this long! I'm sorry it was such a long read, but I just had to explain everything to make sure I do the right thing. I really don't want this gosling to die. Thank you so much!
- Daisy1211
Hi I'm new to the forum and new to birds in general! I've never hatched anything before and I wasn't even prepared for hatching this bird! I found it in the first days of development in a pile of mulch that was delivered to my house a day or 2 prior. I built an incubator and put it in that and 30 days later the bird was alive and pipped!
So after it pipped, 48 hours later it had made very little progress and wasn't zipping. My family and I made the hard decision to try and help it. I know some people may not agree with this, but it would've died if we didn't do it, and I wasn't about to give up on it. The membrane had turned dry and brown and we think that our incubator may have experienced some humidity issues. We think it developed the issue some may know as "sticky chick" or "sticky egg" where it gets stuck to the egg and the membrane begins to harden on the egg like glue or cement. Know that we thought long and hard about helping it and we researched the risks. Honestly I was terrified. We carefully took off little pieces VERY SLOWLY and moistened the membrane with coconut oil and sterile warm water, and looked out for signs of unclosed blood vessels and unabsorbed yolk. It was shaking and chirping and trying so hard to push and we saw no signs of underdevelopment from what we could see. So we zipped the egg for it and it ended up finishing pushing out of the egg on its own. All seemed well at that point...
But when it came out, we saw it had a small mass on its underside. At first it looked like a prolapse and we thought it could be since it was pushing so hard trying to hatch. But after some more research we believe that it's the result of the bird not fully absorbing the yolk. We also read that when the membrane becomes so dry like it was, it can make it more difficult for the bird to absorb all of the yolk. So in an attempt to try to help the bird absorb the rest of the yolk, we wrapped it up burrito-style in warm, wet paper towels and let it sit. After a few hours we went back to check on it and the bulge looked noticeably smaller, but not gone. It was originally the size of a lima bean and it went down to about the size of a large pea or an edamame bean. But I still am really worried about this and I want to know if there's anything else I can do to help it.
Another thing that happened when it hatched is that one of its legs seems as if it's stuck in its fetal position. It is bent, close to the body, and it even looks like it could be backwards! But maybe that's just the angle. Anyways, it won't stretch out and as a result, the bird cannot stand up. I can't find ANYTHING about this on the internet and I have no clue what to do! I've had people tell me to wait, I saw something about giving it vitamins, so my husband went out to Tractor Supply and got a vitamin supplement you mix with water and give to the bird. I have been giving it water by putting its head in a small bowl of water and using a dropper to put it in its mouth. I really don't know what to do about it though. I need help!!! I've never hatched anything before or even really owned a bird! I owned a rooster for a few weeks before because it was attacking my friend's hens and she needed someone to take it, but it was too aggressive to keep at my house since we have small children so it was sent to a farm with many many hens so hopefully he's a little less aggressive now
Anyways, I am very worried about this bird and I don't want to just give up on it. It has been chirping, drinking water, eating, moving around, and it looks very lively. It seems strong and like it has potential to live. It's also very cute! <3 I will be grateful for any insight or advice you can give me! I don't want to give up on this little buddy just yet! If you are reading this thank you for lasting this long! I'm sorry it was such a long read, but I just had to explain everything to make sure I do the right thing. I really don't want this gosling to die. Thank you so much!
- Daisy1211
