Day 23, thought this unhatched chick was dead -

[chooks4life]

good luck with this. I think I tossed viable chicks earlier this year when I thought they quit just before hatch. Further research shows they could have gone to day 25 or longer.

Welcome to the club...

I dare say there are very few long time poultry keepers that haven't done this.

Especially when you're going by the book, and the book (whichever book, really, most of them are alike) is full of over-generalized 'rules'. Of course you threw the eggs, they're not viable beyond a certain date, or so the book said...

Little chick is still alive, I managed to find its beak and peel the membrane away from there so that it can breathe. My plan is to now leave it for 12 hours (it's 8pm here) and see how it's looking in the morning. I know it needs to absorb the yolk, there is blood in the membranes too. I've taken a picture, it's not easy to make out but the chicks beak is there, there wasn't any blood from the membranes there around its face but further down there have been some spots.

I hesitate to ask you to do something you may not be ready for, but if that chick doesn't hatch in the next few hours I'd help it if I were you.

The membrane is white and dry, that's ready. It looks like it's partially shrink wrapped in a few spots. If it's translucent, it's not ready, but it's already white and papery.

This chick may be late due to a defect of some kind, visible externally or otherwise, so generally worth noting it for future reference. I found chicks that needed assistance hatching should generally not be bred almost as a rule, malpositionings and other causes of failure to hatch unassisted are quite often very hereditary.

Best wishes.

 

[AmyLynn2374]

Welcome to the club...

I dare say there are very few long time poultry keepers that haven't done this.

Especially when you're going by the book, and the book (whichever book, really, most of them are alike) is full of over-generalized 'rules'. Of course you threw the eggs, they're not viable beyond a certain date, or so the book said...

I tossed my first hatch's eggs on day 25 without doing any eggtopsy or opening a single one. (I had candled and water floated.) And afterward I started thinking, what if they were still alive in there and I missed it? So many "experts" say through them out they wouldn't be good anyway if they hatch that late. But I can't follow that ideology. I felt awful that I didn't make sure. I will always eggtopsy now. I did on my first hatch cull an egg that I thought was a quitter around day 14 only to find I was wrong. After that I refuse to cull anything that isn't an obvious goner or clears. If there is any chance and they aren't smelling, they are staying till the end!

 

[chooks4life]

I tossed my first hatch's eggs on day 25 without doing any eggtopsy or opening a single one. (I had candled and water floated.) And afterward I started thinking, what if they were still alive in there and I missed it? So many "experts" say through them out they wouldn't be good anyway if they hatch that late. But I can't follow that ideology. I felt awful that I didn't make sure. I will always eggtopsy now. I did on my first hatch cull an egg that I thought was a quitter around day 14 only to find I was wrong. After that I refuse to cull anything that isn't an obvious goner or clears. If there is any chance and they aren't smelling, they are staying till the end!

lol, I am the same. I've tossed viable eggs before, it's not good.

Personally I feel that if I've gone to the effort to ensure they survive to hatching point, and they hatch, whether or not they do so within a criteria framework that points towards them being future potentials for breeding, or future likely cullers, is kind of irrelevant; the animal has reached this stage due to my actions and I have some responsibility to give it a decent chance, all things being equal.

So, if it's suffering, I have a responsibility to give it mercy, but if its sole crime is being a late hatch, I'm not keen on the idea of 'discarding' a newly hatched chick whose only fault is being late.

If I'm sure it isn't late due to lack of heat or similar, then I wouldn't breed it just in case, but you can sell them on to someone who wants only layers, or pets, or keep it for eggs or brooding yourself. Some non-breeders can be quite valuable. Hen-raised chicks are always superior to brooder-reared chicks in my experience.

 

[Lalegid]

I'm giving this chick another 3 hours and then I will assist further, but I am starting to wonder if there is something else wrong with it. I didn't have any temperature problems with this incubation, this one appears to be running late for no apparent reason! The membrane is still bloody in places but also very dry so I will have warm water on hand to help it out - fully expecting that it will probably be weak, most likely die but I will give it a chance.

Thank you for the support, I hate having this little life in my hands

I've had a good read through of the "assisting chicks" information, wish me luck.... https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/step-by-step-guide-to-assisted-hatching

 

[AmyLynn2374]

lol, I am the same. I've tossed viable eggs before, it's not good.

Personally I feel that if I've gone to the effort to ensure they survive to hatching point, and they hatch, whether or not they do so within a criteria framework that points towards them being future potentials for breeding, or future likely cullers, is kind of irrelevant; the animal has reached this stage due to my actions and I have some responsibility to give it a decent chance, all things being equal.

So, if it's suffering, I have a responsibility to give it mercy, but if its sole crime is being a late hatch, I'm not keen on the idea of 'discarding' a newly hatched chick whose only fault is being late.

If I'm sure it isn't late due to lack of heat or similar, then I wouldn't breed it just in case, but you can sell them on to someone who wants only layers, or pets, or keep it for eggs or brooding yourself. Some non-breeders can be quite valuable. Hen-raised chicks are always superior to brooder-reared chicks in my experience.

Amen!! Someone I can agree with!! lol I haven't had to "end a suffering" and don't know if I can. I will probably have to call in someone to do that job for me. My natural instinct is to "save" them, but I know that is not always the case and often you have to go the humane route. Not looking foreward to when that time comes.

 

[AmyLynn2374]

I'm giving this chick another 3 hours and then I will assist further, but I am starting to wonder if there is something else wrong with it. I didn't have any temperature problems with this incubation, this one appears to be running late for no apparent reason! The membrane is still bloody in places but also very dry so I will have warm water on hand to help it out - fully expecting that it will probably be weak, most likely die but I will give it a chance.

Thank you for the support, I hate having this little life in my hands

I've had a good read through of the "assisting chicks" information, wish me luck.... https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/step-by-step-guide-to-assisted-hatching

I had one out of this hatch that I assisted that was "shrink wrapped". It was my third Turken baby. The assist went wonderful. He perked right up after a while and was doing great...except either there was more going on than I realized or the stress of the hatching was too much because from day one he had pasty butt. He was still doing great, but I could not get him over the problem. After a week he started going the other way all within 24 hours and he did pass. I also had a malepositioned that I assisted and he is doing awesome. So you can only try and pray for the best.

 

[chooks4life]

I'm giving this chick another 3 hours and then I will assist further, but I am starting to wonder if there is something else wrong with it. I didn't have any temperature problems with this incubation, this one appears to be running late for no apparent reason! The membrane is still bloody in places but also very dry so I will have warm water on hand to help it out - fully expecting that it will probably be weak, most likely die but I will give it a chance.

Thank you for the support, I hate having this little life in my hands

I've had a good read through of the "assisting chicks" information, wish me luck.... https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/step-by-step-guide-to-assisted-hatching

Sounds like you've got the gist of it, if the membrane is dry on some parts, yet it's still not hatched...

Chances are there is indeed something wrong.

Perhaps it's one of those that doesn't absorb the yolk fully, or worse, doesn't close the intestines into the body properly. That would be likely fatal, but it isn't for all of them, depends on the degree of the fault.

Good luck.

It's a harsh fact of keeping animals, not all will make it, best to be prepared for the eventuality.

Best wishes.

 

[Lalegid]

Little chick is out! And seems to be ok. There is some bloody stuff around the umbilical cord, the yolk has fully absorbed. I've put some corn starch on the umbilical, there isn't any active bleeding it's just a bit messy. I should have taken a better pic before putting the corn starch on!
Chick is back in the incubator now and hopefully will be ok.

 

[Lalegid]

This has been a learning curve for me but I am enjoying the experience of raising chicks

 

[chooks4life]

Good luck, hope it makes it.

Best wishes.