24 hrs since pip - to help or not to help?

[blaines.insane]

Thanks Lisa. That was exactly the clarification I needed. I wish you had written sooner...

I did see bleeding, but the membrane looked rather dry, and I got worried. It was going on 30+ hours since it had pipped, and it looked like it was gasping. So I proceeded to take the top off. It wasn't moving at all, except for shallow breathing (gasping, really). I let it alone for another hour, and it still hadn't moved. the membrane was stuck pretty good in some spots, and I figured it wasn't going to make it if I didn't do something. I went ahead and took him out. It bled quite a bit, and looked like it was dead. There was only the slightest indication of breathing, and I decided to put it back in the incubator. After a few moments, it started gasping again, then settled into a sleep-like state, taking deep, regular breaths.

My hopes are fading for the poor thing. I now know I took him out too soon. I doubt he'll survive. I should have known to stop when I saw blood, since there was no blood on the one that hatched, I should have reasoned that seeing blood was a sign that something wasn't right. !@#$...

Chalk it up to experience, I guess. Too bad a life had to be compromised in order to learn a lesson, though. Hope I haven't endagered the others by opening the 'bator so much.

I'll keep y'all updated.

On a more positive note, two more of the six have now pipped, and the one who hatched this afternoon is resting comfortably nearby.

 

[WalkingWolf]

Cross your fingers maybe it will make it. I have helped a couple, but I only remove the upper shell and leave the membrane. I jack up the humidity and leave a open container of water in the incubator to adjust to the temp and help raise the humidity. I used a q-tip to keep the membrane moist. I only do this if they are gasping, both times they were to big for the shell and could not breath. Once the shell is away the chick can breath and push on the membrane until it tears open a little at a time. I would never pull any chick out, just let them get out on their own steam.

The shell will break away from the membrane without tearing it if you are careful and only do a little at a time. If membrane tears and bleeds even the least little bit STOP.

As soon as or if the chick starts moving around make sure to give it some sugar water. Hopefully it will help it recover.

 

[Akane]

It takes very little blood loss before they die. If you see blood at all you need to stop or they will bleed to death quickly. I wait until 24hrs after all other chicks have hatched and there are no new pips. An early pip may end up needing to wait longer than later pips. Sometimes they jump the gun and then sit there for an extra 12hrs or more beyond what another one that pips later does. If there has been no progress on any egg in 24 hrs then I will help a stuck one. If the others are still hatching best to leave it alone. They can survive without food and water for 3 days so if they have pipped and can breathe they'll be fine for quite a while even if they are stuck.

 

[blaines.insane]

I'm thinking that's what happened with this fellow -- he was too big for his shell. He was in the smallest egg, and he is noticeably bigger than the one that hatched out of the largest shell. Has a huge vaulted skull, too.

He lost a good deal of blood, but he's still alive, believe it or not. I doubt he will be in the morning. Live and learn.

I've got another one now who's doing the same thing. Tiny little pip, and nothing for 5 hours. The other one that pipped later is about a 1/3 of the way around his shell and still working. I can see in his shell and see that he has plenty of room to maneuver in there. The first one, however, was so stuffed in that once his beak popped through, he couldn't get it back in. That was his downfall, I think. Still, he might have come out alright if I would have left him alone. I guess I'll never know now.

What an experience!

Thanks for all the words of wisdom.

Blaine

 

[blaines.insane]

Just hatched out a beautiful Cuckoo silkie.

It was so cute how the other active fellow came over to welcome him into the world. They're chirping up a storm now.

Hopefully they'll have some new companions by morning...

Thanks again,
Blaine

 

[william9792]

glad it see you haave new fuzzy butts , now lets see pics please

 

[WalkingWolf]

Blaine, you will never know and the chick may have suffocated if you left it alone. So don't beat yourself up.

I lost a Silkie chick under a broody hen last week because I didn't do anything. I didn't check enough to not disturb the hen. The chick had poked its beak through the hole and died. When I opened the shell to see why the chick had consumed every single bit of space in the shell. It could not move to zip and grew to the point there was no space to breath.

Sometimes things just happen and it is not in the cards for some chicks. Don't lose hope maybe the chick will bounce back after resting.

 

[blaines.insane]

Well, it's 4am, and little guy #1 is still alive. We gave him a few drops of maplesyrup water last night around 10pm (figured that would be better than plain sugar water, since real maple syrup has lots of nutrients in it). He gobbled it up, but we didn't want to give him too much, so we only gave him 4 or 5 drops. He still lying still on his side, but he has been moving around the cage, so I know he has bursts of liveliness from time to time. I'm frankly surprised he's made it this long. We debated whether or not to put him out of his misery last night, but decided to wait until morning to see if he improves. It was a difficult decision, because even if he improves, he'll probably not live a healthy, happy life. But I guess my philosophy is, every creature deserves a chance. There are human babies that are born premature, or with other hardships, and they kick and they fight and they struggle... Sometimes they pull through and have no lasting effects. Other times they make it, but they suffer. And still others just don't have the will to fight. We'll see what this little fellow's character is made of.

Update on #'s 3 & 4: #3 is making slow, slow progress. This is a nightmarish repeat of #'s 1 & 2. This one pipped yesterday around 4pm, just before his buddy, #4. #4 hatched last night at about 10:15pm. As of right now, #3 has only got a hole about a 1/4" across. But that's bigger than #1 got in a 24 hour period, and it's only been 12 hours since he pipped, so I'm crossing my fingers. I'm learning that there's a lot of factors that contribute to a chick's ability to hatch, such as: humidity, shell strength, chick strength, chick size, etc. Sometimes the cards just aren't stacked in their favor.

We're 4 hours into day 22 now. #'s 5 & 6 still haven't pipped. How long to wait before giving up? I know they developed -- we candled them several times throughout the process, up to day 18. So they've either died since then, or they're just sitting there getting bigger by the hour. Either way, it seems the outcome may be grim. Not giving up hope on them, though. I've heard of chicks hatching on day 22 & beyond. Would be so happy just to see a pip, though...

That's all for now... off to work. Will post pics later.

Blaine

 

[MissPrissy]

So sorry for your loss.

If your temps were even 1 degree low that can set back a hatch by 1 - 2 days. Keep the bator going and try to wait it out to day 25 if you can. By then you'll know for sure if the eggs are going to hatch. A hatch can take place over a period of days. 21 isn't a magic number but it is a predictably normal count for hatching.

 

[blaines.insane]

Thanks missprissy, that's good to know! I thought day 22 or 23 was it. I also thought I had read enough on the subject. Experience, clearly, is worth more than words.

I'll keep it going until day 25 then.

There's still hope! Yay!

Blaine