Any body have this happen and why does it happen?

[taraann81]

Hi everybody!
This has been my first time incubating and so far I have had great results. However I noticed something and wondered if it was common and why it happens.

I had 7 out of 8 silkies hatch on sunday. 2 had a really hard time getting out and were exhausted by the end of it all.

Well they survived and are doing fine now, however there first 48 hrs(24 in bator and the first 24 in brooder) These 2 chicks kept tipping over backwards. It was strange they would either stand up against the side of the brooder very very erect or if they moved away from the side they would flip onto there backs. These two chicks were also wet looking until today. Their fuzz was matted down (not sure if this has something to do with it or not).

Has anybody experienced this before? Or know what its called or why it happens?

Just curious about it.
Thanks
Tara

 

[pete1]

my stepfather put 4 chicken eggs under his turkey and she got up like a week b4 hatch day and my stepfather dident think there was chicks in them so he took them in work shop and a week later they were peeping and zipping and he told me so we brought them to the house and put them in the brooder they were dry and almost stuck to the membrane so we helped them out and 2 died the same day and the other 2 survived and were eating OK and drinking OK i had to help them but they would walk around like if they were drunk and would flip and roll and be all twitchy and could not keep balance and like day 2 one was dead by morning and the next one died 2 days after that i think they never had a chance we helped them out of the shell and that's a very important time in there lil life ;/ they need to do it on there own

 

[eestep8]

Mine are always tippy the first few days, they don't have very good balance at first. Sometimes mine also take 2 days to completely dry.

 

[taraann81]

Thanks guys. I just wondered if it was a neurological problem. I guess I won't worry!

 

[Wynette]

I could be wrong on this, as I do not have Silkies, but I feel like I've read here on BYC that they are more prone to a neurological-like symptom where they do lean backwards or sideways...you might want to do a search on here (see "search" in the blue bar the top of the sight).

 

[MandyH]

Sounds like your humidity dropped while the last two were hatching. When that happens and they have all the dry sticky stuff on them, it makes them stiff and reallly hard to move around. They were probably just trying to get stretched out so they could get moving.

 

[taraann81]

Thanks both of you, I will try the search. Yes they are not just clumsy tippy, Its like their legs hyper extend and they can't control it so they flip over.

 

[RubberChickenLubber]

It's not necessarily anything to worry about. It seems like i had one or 2 like that every hatch last year. They made it. They are finding thier feet much like any animal that walks so shortly after birth. It may last 2-3 days.