chicks hatched with mushy chick disease, should I euthanise?

FolkSonginC

Songster
5 Years
May 2, 2019
285
393
181
Peaks Island, ME
I had to help two chicks hatch, it's the first time I've tried to do an assisted hatch and it went fine because both chicks were ready to hatch but just couldn't. But when they came out both, one more than other, had swollen abdomens, and one was yellowish/green. I've since read it is most likely mushy chick disease, and there's no treatment and they will most likely die. I regret helping them because it seems now like letting nature take it's course would have been more humane, but what do I do now? Should I take care of them and hope they get better? Is it ever possible for a mushy chick to recover? Or would the most human thing to do be to euthanise them? They were also sticky when they hatched, so I had to wash them both, and they are still a bit sticky. I gave them sugar water because they were lethargic and they are a little more active now. Are they in pain? any advice would be greatly appreciated, I just want to do what's best for them.
 
I may not have the popular answer but if they aren't peeping incessantly like they are in some kind of distress and are making the effort to drink eat and self regulate temperature then I'd give the chance to shake it off. In otherwords do what is humanly possible and leave the rest in gods hands. If they aren't peeping incessantly they most likely aren't in distress. I love my misfits and slow starters my best hen lead boss hen is a gimpy leg RIR and BR cross that agopted my first batch of bantams when she was just a juvenile herself. I still have my 3 year old blind Rooster MicroRoo He was trying so hrd to learn and adapt to his disability I didn't have the heart to take away what he was fighting to keep. Thats my .02 worth and it's as good as the money you paid for it.
 
Your right I would never assist hatching after the one time I did I vowed to never do it again because of bad results always let nature work things out on its own and that is what you should do now rather than killing them it’s going to be tough to get them through this if they do have a chance of making it good luck
 
They actually both made it so it must not have been mushy chick, although I don't know what it was because it looked exactly like the pictures. After giving them homemade electrolyte mix they both perked up, they're doing great now although they're quite a bit smaller, even smaller than my half bantam chick that hatched. I also had to help a third who was very very sticky, and unfortunately did not make it. I honestly do think that at least one of them had mushy chick, his abdomen was very swollen and greenish/yellow, and soft and mushy to the touch, but they're both doing fine now so I guess it doesn't matter.
Thank you both for the advice! Considering they survived, I'm a bit torn about assisted hatching. I'm almost certain they would have died if I hadn't helped, but I also had two losses (I made a mistake and tried to help one that hadn't absorbed the yolk yet), and the sticky chick.
I think the problem was my humidity was too low, I only had 18 out of 27 hatch and from what I've read that can cause smaller and weaker chicks.
 

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