Chick stuck with shell on its back

[HenriettaPizzaNolan]

I am assisting a teacher with her classroom hatch. We have 5 hatched, healthy, and running around. We removed them from the incubator this morning because they were ganging up on and pecking a struggling chick, and have been since Sunday. I need help with this chick! It seems to be stuck with the shell on its back, and its legs are splayed in separate directions. It can squirm, but not get up. How do I help this chick? It has been this way since at least Sunday at 4:00 PM EST.

Any idea on what to do? It's been a couple days now so I'm assuming it's time to intervene. You can kind of see one other egg in the bottom left that has pipped but it hasn't progressed from that stage since yesterday afternoon, so we think it may have passed away.

Any advice on either of these is appreciated! I did bring some tweezers, coconut oil, q-tips, and a syringe today in case any of that could be of help.

 

[TwoCrows]

You need to get this chick out of the incubator, and with warm running water, rinse until the shell comes off. Dry the chick well with a hair dryer and get it into the brooder. If it's legs are permanently splayed, you will need to tape them up.

https://blog.meyerhatchery.com/2019/09/spraddle-leg-causes-and-treatment/

 

[HenriettaPizzaNolan]

I got him out of the shell but he is still unable to stand with the bandage on the legs. I put him in this cup to try to get the legs underneath him. Is this a good idea?

What else can I try?

 

[HenriettaPizzaNolan]

Any ideas?

 

[Just2chickens]

Hi, I know almost nothing about chicks, just what I see on youtube or what I read here, but I would try if you can get it to eat and drink... Maybe some mesh made out of chickfeed and water?

 

[Farmgirl283420]

@fluffycrow

 

[fluffycrow]

How is it now? TwoCrows has given excellent advice, and she is far more knowledgeable than me. I fear that the cup, while giving the chick support, will limit its ability to stand on its own. If you place the chick in the right position, will it spring the legs back out again?

 

[HenriettaPizzaNolan]

How is it now? TwoCrows has given excellent advice, and she is far more knowledgeable than me. I fear that the cup, while giving the chick support, will limit its ability to stand on its own. If you place the chick in the right position, will it spring the legs back out again?

The chick has made a lot of progress since the morning! We took it out of the cup but kept it in a separate basket in the brooder so it isn't trampled. This morning it would just fall and lay there on its belly, and it seemed to be losing a bit of its fight. However, somehow by the afternoon it has started to be able to stand back up after a fall and right itself. It takes a bit, but it can now! I dipped its beak so it could learn to drink and it took a couple sips on its own, but it can't really walk yet to get to the waterer itself. So we'll have to keep doing that.

Even though it can't really take normal steps yet, I think being able to stand is a huge deal! What do you guys think? Is it possible the chick will learn to walk?

 

[HenriettaPizzaNolan]

The chick was moving around so much better early this morning. So much so that I moved it out of the little basket and in with the other chicks. It seemed like its energy was up and I saw it drinking a lot this morning. Haven't seen it eat yet though but drinking is a good sign. But late morning/afternoon, it seems to have slowly taken a turn for the worse. It is extremely lethargic and laying around much more. The teacher didn't see it drink all day but when I put it by the drinker around 12:00 it did take a few sips. Then I syringe-fed it about 1cc of molasses water mixture. It seemed to get a little boost, but now the teacher reports (I'm not there anymore) that now it "pops up for a second, turns in a circle, and goes back down flat" and is mostly laying down.

Could this lethargy be due to healing of the legs, or is this a sick chick? I offered to take the chick home to care for it overnight or until it recovers, but I want to do that as a last resort because chicks get so lonely.

 

[SmiYa0126]

@Kiki help!