dreamofwinter
Songster
Hi all,
I have a chick that was an assisted hatch. It zipped about 1/4 of the way and then stopped long enough that the membranes turned dark brown. I assisted by finishing its zip and letting it kick open when ready, but in hindsight I probably should have unzipped it over a few hours rather than over 30-45 minutes; or maybe not have assisted at all and let it pass.
When it did hatch, its navel was still quite open. This was almost 48 hours ago. Since then, the navel has closed leaving a hard scab about 3/8" in diameter, and the chick is eating and drinking and pooping (we're also battling some pasty butt, not surprising in this case).
My concern, though, is that the abdomen is quite large, matching the pics I've seen of mushy chick. There is no smell. The chick staggers when it walks but does seem to be growing stronger by tiny percentages.
My other concern is that the chick is extremely vocal. It's not distress peeps - it saves those for when we do butt cleaning - but rather that sweet twittering that chicks do to each other as they drift off to sleep. Except this one does it CONSTANTLY. It's got another chick in the incubator (another problem hatch who is doing great and heading to the brooder today) so it's not lonely.
Experienced hatchers, what's your recommendation? I don't mind if it's a special needs adult, but I also don't want it to suffer.
I have a chick that was an assisted hatch. It zipped about 1/4 of the way and then stopped long enough that the membranes turned dark brown. I assisted by finishing its zip and letting it kick open when ready, but in hindsight I probably should have unzipped it over a few hours rather than over 30-45 minutes; or maybe not have assisted at all and let it pass.
When it did hatch, its navel was still quite open. This was almost 48 hours ago. Since then, the navel has closed leaving a hard scab about 3/8" in diameter, and the chick is eating and drinking and pooping (we're also battling some pasty butt, not surprising in this case).
My concern, though, is that the abdomen is quite large, matching the pics I've seen of mushy chick. There is no smell. The chick staggers when it walks but does seem to be growing stronger by tiny percentages.
My other concern is that the chick is extremely vocal. It's not distress peeps - it saves those for when we do butt cleaning - but rather that sweet twittering that chicks do to each other as they drift off to sleep. Except this one does it CONSTANTLY. It's got another chick in the incubator (another problem hatch who is doing great and heading to the brooder today) so it's not lonely.
Experienced hatchers, what's your recommendation? I don't mind if it's a special needs adult, but I also don't want it to suffer.
