Should I help this chick hatch or it is ok?

[evers310]

Yinepu- thank you. I'm going to get everything together then get the egg out and work with it as per your instructions. I will let you know in a bit what happens...

Thanks again

 

[Ridgerunner]

I'll offer a bit of different advice. You'll find we often do things differently on this forum.

When a chick hatches, it goes through a process. It internally pips, eventually externally pips, and eventually zips. Between these events, it is not just laying there resting. It is absorbing the yolk, drying up the blood vessels outside its body, and going through whatever other processes it needs to do to hatch. Some chicks do a lot of the absorb the yolk, dry the blood vessels, and such between internal and external pip. These usually zip fairly soon after external pip. Some wait until after external pip to do most of these things. These are the ones that drive us nuts waiting for them to zip. Some don't totally finish before zip. Often these are fine, but occasionally you lose some of these.

It can take a real short time between pip and zip or it can take more than 24 hours. There is nothing consistent about it. If you try to help a chick before it is ready to zip, you stand a real good chance of killing it. But, if one is in trouble and you don't help it, you stand a good chance if it dying. It is not always an easy decision. You are looking at them and we are not, so it has to be your decision.

When you open the incubator you stand a chance of shrink wrapping a chick. A chance, not a sure thing. I've done it so I am convinced it happens. I did not shrink wrap each and every chick the times I have done it, just one in two separate hatches. Sometimes you have to do what you have to do.

The way I help a chick that is shrink wrapped, I take a cup of warm water, not hot enough to burn the chick and not cool enough to chill it. Somewhere around 100 to 105 degrees Fahrenheit would be about right, but I just go by feel. from my experience it does not have to be exact, just not etreme. I dunk the chick and egg in the water but keep the chick's head out of the water. Otherwise you will drown it. After it has soaked a bit, I gently pick off the shell. Usually it is separated from the membrane so you are left with a chick wrapped in the membrane. I then gently start to tear the membrane so the chick can get out. I again soak the chick in the warm water to wash some of the gunk off, but when it dries, that down will be stuck down like it was glued. I don't worry about it. I've never had that cause a problem as long as the chick can walk and move. The other chicks don't bother it and it wears off in less than a week. I even gave one like that to a brooyd hen and she accepted it. It bothers some people though and they rinse the chick off a few times to try to get rid of it.

After helping it, I put it back in the warm incubator for it to dry. Then I treat it like any other chick.

The big question is tell when you need to intervene. Like I said, you are there looking at it. I'm not. I usually don't help until I see yellowish foam start to come out of the pip hole. That means it is about to choke to death. You may decide to try earlier, but for me that is the now or never moment. I don't save all of those, but I do some.

Good luck! It is a traumatic time when you have to help a chick. Just try to not help too early, because that can also be traumatic. It is not easy deciding.

 

[MommaB]

I am still very new at this but I will tell you my story. Prepare yourself in case the chick has problems. I had a horrible hatch my first go round only 5 of 27 pipped. The first 4 were fine. The last lay as yours did for what seem like forever. I finally knew that if I didn't it would die so I carefully removed the shell following precautions and my chick actually had a leg deformety. I guess natural selection was taking place. I nursed it for days hoping it was just weak but my hubby had to put the poor thing down. It couldn't stand. I'm not sure how I will handle things this next time. I did, I think, pull a tiny bit of seperated shell away from another chick but it came out on it own other than that.

I will be very torn if I come to this road again. I tear up at the thought of leaving one to fend for itself if I might could help, but I can't stand the thought of helping one that natures deems better dead.

 

[evers310]

Ok so now I've realized that we have a much bigger problem than a dry membrane... after pulling the shell away from the membrane a bit i discovered that the chick never pipped thru its air sac! you can see it plain as day in the larger end of its egg and it has pipped thru the side of the egg and it appears to be where the yolk sac is because you can see the tiny blood vessels right around its beak!

there was no blood when i was pulling off the egg shell but there was some blood if i pulled at the membrane. I stopped with the membrane, shot this pic so you can see what I see and ran in here to get more advice as now it looks like everything has changed....

NOW WHAT?!?!?..

fyi its still peeping and "biting" at the membrane right there.. (thats all its been doing for over 12 hours now) Help!

Direct Link: https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/qsJGzYsxg18CfXgFMUzXhZXYquk_qaMCjwO9lAPAKWU?feat=directlink

 

[gavinandallison]

Quote:
Moisten the membrane with warm water and enlarge the hole if you can with a set of tweezers, keeping the membrne moist - i use q-tips and a bowl of warm water. Just make sure the hole is big enough for it to breathe properly, ok? let me know soonest how you are doing..... if it bleeds slightly then stop.....

 

[yinepu]

ok.. since you have run into blood .. make sure the membrane is moist and wrap the egg with a wet paper towel making sure you don't cover the beak and return it to the incubator..

 

[evers310]

the blood vessels you can see in the last picture are what I'm worried about now. the bits of blood when i pulled at the membrane seem to be coming from in-between the 2 membranes? is that the case? does this mean it hasnt absorbed everything yet?

i am just not sure what im looking at.

its peeping away now because now i am in my brooder room where its warmest and it hears the other chicks that have already hatched. it seems really healthy which is a good sign.

and im guessing it hasnt tried to move to hatch because it just cant. the air sac is still full and its so cramped. it tries to move.. it almost feels like its trying to use its wings.. like fluttering but it just cant move. it keeps its beak outside of the hole so thats good atleast as far as it being able to get some air.

what should i do about how its emerging from the egg?

should i try to take ALL of the membrane off so its completely soft and see if it can break thru? should i puncture the air sac to give it more room? should i leave the membrane alone other than keeping it moist?

so many questions!!!

 

[yinepu]

since you have seen blood leave it alone for awhile.. the chick's struggles will send a signal to the veins to stop the blood supply.. it also needs this time to finish absorbing the yolk...
Just give it time to sort things out.. if you rush it too much now you will only cause problems.. so take a big breath.. go fix a cup of tea and let the chick handle things for a bit..

 

[gavinandallison]

I agree, give it say an hour and go check on it....... you may be able to peel back some more membrane by then....

 

[gavinandallison]

Quote:
Anymore progress or news?