constantly peeping - UPDATED WITH PICS!

[rizq]

I had one egg that pipped early yesterday. As of about 3:00 this afternoon, the chick hadn't managed to zip. Since I knew that I'd had humidity problems with this one (moved the hatcher, spilled the water, hum went WAY up, then WAY down ... didn't stabilize until after chick pipped) I decided the chick needed help so I got some warm water, a shop towel, and a tweezer and sat down and hatched the chick.

The membrane was VERY tough ... like leather. Also, the chick was already dry ... all the liquid had congealed and literally glued the chick to the membrane and had also glued one eye shut, I left that alone, figured it would come open on its own. I had a devil of a time getting the chick free. The yolk was completely absorbed and there was no bleeding what-so-ever so the chick was definitely ready to come out. After he was free I put him back in the hatcher, he just laid there like he was dead. I didn't think he was going to make it, but several minutes later he started flopping around and eventually got his feet under him.

Now, 4 or so hours later, the chick still looks gooey, but is dry and is starting to fluff out. The eye has come open and he walks around just fine. He seems to be doing well, but he hasn't stopped peeping since I put him in the brooder. He is with one other serama mutt chick and a hamburg with a bum leg (both about 4 days old). I have dipped his beak a couple times, but he hasn't gone for either food or water on his own (which doesn't worry me yet).

I have a red light on the brooder placed in such a way that it only hits the front corner, temp in that corner shows at 91*. They have plenty of area to get out of the heat if they want. There is crushed chick starter scattered on the paper towel and a quail waterer with fresh water. Can't think of anything else that would be relevant except that he also has curled toes.

Should I worry that there is something wrong? I don't remember the other chicks making this much noise. He just never quits, which is fine if there is nothing wrong ... I can deal with the noise, I'm just worried about the little fella.

 

[Robin L]

Im sorry I cant help you Becki but Im sure someone will step up and help. I wanted to say congrats on the baby!

 

[Fudgie]

YES I can help. I just posted on another thread about this let me go find it and copy it here.

 

[Rhett&SarahsMom]

my Partridge Rock roo was like that. I swear I knew he was a boy the first night he was in the brooder. He just never stopped. Granted he was a few days old when we got him and healthy as far as we could tell. But heavens he peeped constantly.

 

[Fudgie]

First off chicks don't just chirp away the day for no reason. Something is bugging the little guy or he would shut up after he is warm and full.

Does he/she have membranes covering its eyes or ears? I have a trick for that if that is the case. You have to be real careful. I had one that was covered head to toe with sticky membranes. He could not see or hear or flap wings etc.

I get a tupperware bowl or some sort of bowl that is deep enough for you to put your whole hand in. Then I fill it up with warm water not hot just warm enough to "melt" off the sticky and be comfortable for the chick. I take the chick and put it in the palm of my hand with his head between my first and second finger looking outwards. Don't squeeze him hard enough to choke him, just gently keep his head still so he does not accidentally drown. His feet are in my palm. I set him down in the warm water up to his neck you can let him stand on the bottom if you like to give him some better footing. (DONT GET HIS HEAD IN THE WATER!!!!) I sort of splash gently the warm water on him....they like being in the water this way by the way. They immediately stop chirping so loud because it is cozy warm and they are happy when warm. Anyway after a few seconds I start trying to peel the sticky off of them and it usually comes right off. Sometimes you have to roll water around with your fingers on them to get it to finally come off. If they have it stuck to their heads I use my other hand to get my finger wet and just rub, like petting them, and it loosens up enough to pick it off.

After this, I take a nice hand towel and dry them off good and put them back in the incubator to dry and fluff up just like they were just hatched. This usually works great.

Let me know if he shuts up in the warm water! Good luck! Jen

 

[rizq]

I pretty sure this is a little boy too. My other serama mutt has a very smooth comb area and you can see the little points of his comb, even right after hatch.

Yes, he does have membrane stuck to him. He has a little bit on his head and he can't move his left wing very easily. There are also other bits here and there. I wondered about giving him a "bath" but was scared to try. I'll give that a try and see if that settles the little fella down.

Thanks!

 

[Fudgie]

Quote:
That wing not being mobile is causing his rucus, get that off first and watch him settle down! the other stuff doesn't bother him too much probably. if their ears are sealed shut by the membrane, it would be like us getting a cold and our ears popping but not opening up. Kind of like they feel like they are in a tube then. They don't like it at all.

Main thing about the bath, don't cover his head and just drip with your finger on his head area, don't let the water run down his face. Just like a kid, they hate it and worse of all they can drown.

 

[rizq]

He seemed to enjoy that! He is starting to fluff out again now. I used a small margarine container with warm water and he had so much nastiness on him that the water was cloudy when I was done.

Right now he is under the heat lamp standing up so straight that he keeps tipping over backwards

I thought maybe he was cold so I held him up closer to the lamp for awhile and he did the same thing, I think he is just goofy. He has stopped crying and seems content, so I don't think he is too cold.

If all is well tomorrow and he still seems happy I will have to do something about those toes. Maybe they'll straighten out overnight

I hope the 2 eggs that go in the hatcher tomorrow and the one for Monday go more smoothly than he did.

 

[Fudgie]

How Cool is that! Glad he is doing better. I told you something was ticking him off to be chirping so loud. Glad he loved his bath. I had tried the warm washcloth first and it just did not do the trick, he needed dousing of warm water to soften up that goo. Make sure your humidity is not too high. I think that is what meshes the slimy inside to the chicks. If it were a bit dryer, you could have at least peeled it from him easier.

 

[rizq]

It was very low when he pipped, I think that was the problem. If I don't keep my humidity quite high (they seem to do best at about 70-75%) my chicks stick. It was at about 35% when this chick pipped and I had trouble getting it up. I needed to clean the hatcher but couldn't until after this chick hatched .... I think the scum on top of the water in the tray was preventing its evaporation, I had to add containers on top of the screen to get the hum up. My last hatch I started at about 62% and my chicks were sticking, but once I upped it, they popped right out.

The little guy seems to be doing well this morning. He still looks a little slick over his head and back but has mostly fluffed out and doesn't have anything gooed shut anymore. I still haven't seen him touch water or peck much at the food, but he still has time. I've dunked his beak a few times and he is with 2 slightly older chicks, I'm sure he'll figure it out.

Here he is ... isn't he just adorable?! I've named him Gabby

(see his curled toes?)

Here's Gabby again, doing what he does best

Here is his sister squint (she ran around with her eyes closed most of the time her first few days)

Here is Squint and Gabby together

And here is Squint, Gabby, and Gimpy in their little brooder (which needs to be cleaned)