Sorry to hear about your chick, and hopfully he/she will make it
Well, my sloth of a chick, Myrtle the Turtle, never did progress yesterday just like the one that died in the shell the day before. I got bold and assisted the chick because I figured that if I didn't it would probably die anyway. Sometimes a chick not being born may just be the way nature intends for it to be even though it breaks our heart. I did successfully help my baby out at the end of day 23. It was in the process of being shrink wrapped which is odd because the humidity is plenty high at 65 - 70%. The chick was very weak, didn't seem to be in the proper position to hatch out, and I noticed that one of the legs was deformed and had a curled foot. I wonder if that is the reason that it wasn't successful in breaking free.
I now have an Intensive Chick Unit (ICU) set up with an orthopedic department. She has shoes on her feet, a splint on her leg, and a chicken seat made from a cottage cheese container to keep her legs dangling. The chick is getting stronger by the hour and we hope to be able to fix her leg so that she can live a happy life.
Anyway, I would not recommend trying to assist unless not much bothers you. I'm just determined that way and have seen a worse mess than that while eating lunch.
Today she has more energy, but having a hard time getting around still. I started giving her Poly-Vi-Sol this afternoon. No more pips in the remaining 2 eggs. With it being day 24 and no movement detected, I think my hatch is over. One healthy chick. One special needs chick that may not make it. I don't think I will ever try to hatch shipped eggs again.
