A Delicate Situation...

[musikfan6]

Hello everyone!

The third grade class in the school where I teach incubated some eggs. They did not hatch on Day 21, but started to crack around day 23. After that, they kind of stopped. But you could still hear them peeping inside, even at day 23. Out of curiosity, we cracked some of the eggs the rest of the way to "help" the chicks get out. As of today, I have four little chicks who are struggling but seem to be fighting. Actually, two of them have these bulges on their little behinds which I think is probably due to them being underdeveloped (they probably won't make it). But when we were removing the egg shells, the little guys were really peeping like crazy inside. So, two of them seem to be doing well. I'll be surprised if the other two make it through the night.

They are all in my brooder under the heat lamp. The healthier ones are panting somewhat. Does this mean they are too hot? They are also peeping loudly at times. I'm trying to coax them to eat and drink, but it's almost like they aren't steady enough on their feet yet. I tried to feed them water from a spoon and managed to get some down their little throats. I'm not sure what to think at this point. I'm a novice at this, as I have eight 7 week old hens who I got as day old chicks from a hatchery. They are doing fine, but they were not in this situation. I guess I just have to wait it out and see what happens.

Any ideas on how to get them to eat or drink? I don't know how long they can go without the nourishment. They are stumbling around a little bit, but not in the direction of their food and water. Sigh.....

 

[ericnash]

gently place their beaks in the water so they know what it is and where to find it.

I hate to say it, but it sounds like they needed a little more time developing before they hatched. The best advice is let nature takes its course and they should free themselves from the egg

 

[ericnash]

gently place their beaks in the water so they know what it is and where to find it.

I hate to say it, but it sounds like they needed a little more time developing before they hatched. The best advice is let nature takes its course and they should free themselves from the egg

 

[leadwolf1]

How old are the chicks? They can go up to 72 hours without food/water. You can get them to drink, once they have their feet under them by dipping their beaks in the water until they catch on. To get them to eat, sprinkle some food around a peck, dig at it with your finger like a mother hen would. That should get them interested.

When you peeled off the shell, was there any bleeding?

 

[OreoPlymothRock]

chicks love shiny things, so put marbles in the water and on top of the food, the chicks will peck at the marbles and as a result: Drink. By putting in the marbles also decreases the chance of drowning. When you put the marbles on top of the food, the will get attracted to the marbles and the chicks also get attracted to the food. If a chick pants that means that they are hot. Make sure that the light is not shining every nook and crany. Let there be a little cool spot in the brooder so if they are hot, go to the cool side, and if they're cold, go to the warm spot. Hope this helps.

 

[musikfan6]

Yes, there was some bleeding but not a whole lot. Still, I'm sure this was not good. I guess we just wait and see what happens.
Poor little guys......

Thanks for the comments!

 

[musikfan6]

Good idea. I'll try that.

 

[chorchner]

Most of mine peep for a day or two before they were out. I did help some once they poke out on their own. I just opened enough for them to push out easy when they were ready. I did not make them come all the way b/c I know they are still pulling in their yolk even right before hatching. I also read if they did not get their yolk in and you seen alot of blood they could have lost alot and some say to give sugar water or vita mix from the feed store. Most of mine I could peel the entire 1/2 shell with no blood at all so I did know they were ready. One had blood one so I stoped and put it back for another day. I think my bator is a little to dry. My last one has a bad leg and I read it can be from being dry.I did hatch 6 of my very first ones so I am happy and they are so perfect.

 

[CorinneP]

Maybe a little electrolytes .. If It were me I would be taking them home to care for them and running out and buying three little healthy chicks for those third graders to see .. yikes.. I Always hear how schools do this in the younger grades I wondered what happened if they didn't hatch or worse .. Good Luck ! Also I don't think It would hurt to stimulate their little vents a bit ..

 

[excitedmichicks]

chicks love shiny things, so put marbles in the water and on top of the food, the chicks will peck at the marbles and as a result: Drink. By putting in the marbles also decreases the chance of drowning. When you put the marbles on top of the food, the will get attracted to the marbles and the chicks also get attracted to the food. If a chick pants that means that they are hot. Make sure that the light is not shining every nook and crany. Let there be a little cool spot in the brooder so if they are hot, go to the cool side, and if they're cold, go to the warm spot. Hope this helps.

You mention that they are attracted to shiny things!! Oh boy!! You couldn't be more correct! lol I have a gold ring on my right ring finger and I cannot get through feeding or cleaning out the coop or the brooder without being pecked at a few hundred times! Even when our chicks were only like 2 days old they were able to find, follow, and peck at that ring.

Thank you for the information about the marbles.