We have 4 chicks that hatched yesterday and they're still with the hen. They're in a laying box now but there's a rooster and 7 other hens in the barn stall as well. We let them out during the day so she's been fine so far but now that they've hatched, we want to move her to her own coop...
So sorry. We had to cull two of ours and it was so hard. We are new at all of this anyways and I never thought we'd have to do this. I'm thankful I have a husband that just takes care of things and me & the kids don't have to ask "how". But I know we did the right thing for the baby chicks.
The first group we had we were told to use a hair dryer to dry their booty. Last night, I just got a cup of warm water, paper towel and some Q-tips. I did all of this under the heat lamp so she wouldn't get cold. I dipped the Q-tip in the water and got her booty wet enough for the paste to...
What kind of vitamins and where do you buy them? I've read this before but wasn't sure what to get.
I also read on another post yesterday that you can put a little olive oil on their booties every day and that will help it come off easier.
So sorry for your loss. We experienced the same thing with shrink wrapping. 3 of ours made it, one was deformed and one died in the shell/membrane. 2 of the 3 still look a little 'not as cute' because of the dried goo but I've been cleaning them with warm water and a Q-tip.
Glad you...
We had to help a few of our last night. Of course they only recommend it when there's no hope but it sounds like you're desperate.
Read this thread if you decide help the chicks out.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=9316
Good luck. Keep us posted!
We opened ours during lockdown over the weekend and caused 4 eggs to shrink wrap. They were pipped for almost 48 hours so we decided to help them out a little. All but one survived but I don't recommend opening the bator during lockdown.
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See my reply above. We had 4 that had pipped for over 24 hours (probably closer to 48 hours) so we decided to help them along last night. 3 of them were up and running around today. I never thought I'd agree to intervene but it saved their lives. They were shrink wrapped and would...
That's great news!!! What day are you on? We had 3 eggs last night (day 22) that hadn't done anything so we candled them (we didn't candle at lockdown either). There was no movement so we made a small hole on the big end to see what happened. There was a sack with blood but it looked empty...
That is great news!!! She should be fine now. She may be a little weaker than the other chicks in the beginning so make sure they don't pick on her but sounds like you've nursed her back to health. I always thought it was best to let nature take it's course but I firmly believe these chicks...
I am very new to this so I hope others will correct me if I'm wrong. We made the same mistake and opened our bator after lockdown. 7 hatched fine but 4 were shrink wrapped. We left them alone for well over 24 hours but then it was obvious they weren't able to get out. We read on the message...
I agree to let it be. You certainly don't want to open your incubator because you can shrink wrap your eggs. We learned this the hard way over the weekend and had to help 5 of our last little chicks.
I agree about not taking the bottom shell off the chick. We did this last night with two of ours and they were up running around with the shell still attached to their booty this morning. I took them to the bathroom with a heater and ran warm water over them because the membrane was dry and...
Good luck with your new chicks. We just had our first hatching experience. The first one hatched Saturday and we had to help the last ones this morning. Just remember to never open your incubator after lockdown. We learned this the hard way and had to help 5 of ours because they were shrink...
I agree. I'd try to remove the membrane. I took mine to the bathroom with a heater blowing toward it and kept warm water running so I could keep the membrane wet. One it was damp, it came off easily. Mine still had the cord attached so I left it on and put it back in the incubator. Good luck.
I hope your chick(s) are OK this morning. As I said last night, we were really worried about 5 of ours because they were really bad shrink wrapped. We helped them all we could last night so we said a prayer and went to bed. They woke me up at 5 this morning chirping away. 2 were up walking...
We're in the same boat too. 6 hatched over the past 2 days and 4 are left behind. This is our first time and we didn't realize you couldn't open the incubator after lockdown. These 4 pipped 2 days ago and you could tell they were drying out. Several had large holes and 2 had smaller holes...