Chick seems to be struggling during hatch, should I help?

[Chickflick29]

We had a broody hen go off her eggs so I’ve had to finish them in our incubator. I’ve hatched many chicks successfully in this incubator, but this chicks seems to be having some difficulty. I found them like this at 7:00am, I’m writing this about 2 1/2 hours later. It seems that it was malpositioned and didn’t zip properly, it’s breathing and still trying to break out but not making much progress. Each time it tries to kick/push itself out, it peeps just like young chicks would if they got stepped on by mom. Not sure whether I should intervene or not, it’s far enough along that I feel it’s absorbed what it needs to and may be stuck due to the amount of shell remaining. Any helpful suggestions? Pics are most recently, taken as I posted this.

 

[SilverBirds]

Has it made any progress?

 

[Chickflick29]

Has it made any progress?

Update: the membrane looked very tough and the feathers outside the egg were starting to dry already with no more progress, so I decided to assist the hatch and the chick is out!

It has a deformity with its right foot, the toes are curled and it doesn’t seem to be using it - I believe this attributed to why it couldn’t hatch. Hard to get pics of in the incubator, but you can see it in the pics I’ve attached (it doesn’t seem to be able to extend it, and the toes don’t seem to work)

As long as it has quality of life, we’re fine with a gimpy chicken! But if anyone has experience with this and has any tips or tricks to share that might help the chick, I’m always happy for help. I understand culling may be the most humane thing to do, if it starts to suffer.

 

[SilverBirds]

Update: the membrane looked very tough and the feathers outside the egg were starting to dry already with no more progress, so I decided to assist the hatch and the chick is out!

It has a deformity with its right foot, the toes are curled and it doesn’t seem to be using it - I believe this attributed to why it couldn’t hatch. Hard to get pics of in the incubator, but you can see it in the pics I’ve attached (it doesn’t seem to be able to extend it, and the toes don’t seem to work)

As long as it has quality of life, we’re fine with a gimpy chicken! But if anyone has experience with this and has any tips or tricks to share that might help the chick, I’m always happy for help. I understand culling may be the most humane thing to do, if it starts to suffer.

Glad the assist went well.

Once he's dried off more, I'd make him a boot to try and straighten out his little foot. I'd also get him some vitamins when he starts drinking.
Article 'Corrective “shoes” for chicks'
Article 'Fixing Curled Toes With Tape - Picture Tutorial and Video'

 

[SmiYa0126]

Aww, sweet baby, I hope she'll be ok

 

[Chickflick29]

Update again: thank you so much for the info y’all! I left the chick in the incubator to sleep and recover, then moved it to the brooder. I mixed B complex vitamin, containing riboflavin, into her water and managed to fix a tiny boot onto her foot (quite the feat with a newborn Serama!). She’s starting to peck about and has gotten a few drinks, and seems as lively as a day and a half old chick usually would be, but I’m worried there’s something wrong with her hip. She always seems to be leaning on her left side and the leg seems “stuck” (for lack of a better description). She’s young enough still that some tottering around is expected, but that leg doesn’t seem to be working well. When she sits up, the good leg is braced against the ground as normal but the bad leg is in the air (as if she was trying to give a high five, almost). I’ve tried to get a photo, but it’s difficult on my own at the moment. Anyone have experience with this?

I was originally hoping it was curly toe paralysis, as that would be cured by lots of B2 and some corrective shoeing, but I’m not so sure anymore. I want to give her a chance, but I’m worried about quality of life.

 

[SmiYa0126]

How is she doing?

 

[Chickflick29]

How is she doing?

Unfortunately no better I got a vet’s opinion, and it seems like a bone deformation. The hock is flat like a slipped tendon, but it cannot be manipulated. Poor little thing has very little quality of life not being able to access food or water well on its own, and would likely require surgery to fix (not recommended on a Serama chick). I had to make the hard decision to cull her, and have cried for hours about it now.