2 Problems

[ChickRaiserRN]

First up: Our eggs started hatching early Monday morning. This morning we had another one hatch and I just put him in the brood. The older chicks started pecking him. I got a little tupperware bowl, put some shavings in it, put him in it, and placed it all in the brood under one of the heat lamps. Should I do this? Could they kill him? I felt so bad for him b/c he was in his resting period.

Secondly, we had one egg that had been trying to hatch for about 36 hours. He had gotten very close, but was stuck for about 24 hours. This morning I helped him out of his shell. There was no way he would have been able to get out, he and his shell/membrane were pretty dry and the membrane was beginning to stick to him. I know some people say to not help them at all, but I felt bad for him. I placed him back in the incubator to finish drying out, but it seems as though his neck and one leg is still in the "fetal" position. Will this correct itself? Opinions on helping a chick out of its shell?

Thanks in advance We are 1st time hatchers. We have 12 hatched so far.

 

[ChickRaiserRN]

Here's a pic of gimpy, you can see how one leg is "stuck".

 

[ChickRaiserRN]

And here's a pic of our peckers... Pun intended ;-)

 

[Peep_Show]

Chicks once hatched can survive 3 days without food and water because they are living off the nutrients in their absorbed yolk sac. I have found the longer you can leave the chicks in the incubator the better, especially if you have eggs hatching at errant times (wouldn't it be a nice perfect world if they all hatched at once and popped out of the shell at noon?) Leaving them in as long as possible without opening the incubator also helps to avoid the dreaded shrink wrappage as opening the incubator disrupts the humidity levels. About the only downside to leaving the chicks in is a lot of thumping about as they stumble and fumble through their unhatched brethren.

Your young chick put in the brooder probably could've used an extra day or two of hardening before being introduced to the older chicks. This allows the chick to totally fluff out and get very good on their feet. Older chicks are hungry chicks, ready to eat and, remember, chickens are just about the ultimate in scavengers which will eat ANYTHING.

And, I don't know if it's possible with such young birds, but your chick probably arrived at the bottom of the pecking order of the flockette.... no pun intended. If your chick developed an open wound, yes, he would get pecked to death. Or he may lose an eye. Best advice is to wait until the youngest chick is eating and drinking before reintroducing him.

As for chick No. 2, wait and see. It may correct itself as it gets caught up to where it should be. A chick once pipped may take 24 hours before they even start to zip. This is the time the yolk sac gets absorbed. Chicks hatch when they are physically ready. And, sad as it is, some chicks get up to the final stages and just are too weak to survive. It is human nature to want to help, but that's interfering with the survival of the fittest and too often our interference does more harm than good.

 

[ChickRaiserRN]

Gimpy drown. We had him and the little guy separated from the other chicks with their own food and water, and even though we put marbles in the waterer, he somehow drown. :'(

 

[ChickRaiserRN]

I just noticed that the little one has a deformed foot. The claw that's suppose to be on the back of the foot is on the side (like where our thumbs are) and his other claws kinda curl in. Do you think he'll ever be able to walk correctly? He walks in a circle, stumbling right now. The other chicks def knew he was the weakling.

 

[Peep_Show]

I've seen posts on how to correct deformed feet on BYC. You basically have to put him into a homemade snowshoe built of popsicle sticks and tape. I'd suggest a search of the words "snowshoe splint" "curled foot" or some such to find the posts.... It's not an uncommon problem among incubated eggs.

 

[Peep_Show]

p.s.

Sorry about Gimpy.

 

[ChickRaiserRN]

Thank you! I made boots out of a bandaid, but tomorrow I'm going to go to the store & by some coban to make him some really good boots & also something to keep his other leg from sprawling out behind him.