- May 21, 2013
- 36
- 1
- 24
Yesterday, on day 20, this little one pipped and rocked from 3pm on, (I was gone all day and that's when I came home, so I'm not sure when it actually pipped). Then by 1am last night, it seemed to have completely stopped and the membrane looked tough and very white. Against my husband's judgment, I took it out and helped cracked little bits of the shell and wet (very carefully) the membrane. As soon as I saw blood, I stopped. I wrapped it in a wet paper towel, with plenty of room for the beak to be out. This morning, it was still alive (thank goodness!-we lost an entire batch last month, b/c it was my first time and every egg went in the turner upside down by accident. One of them pipped, and then died. I'm so afraid of it happening again, that I can't help myself.)
I don't have a way to check humidity, and I think that is the problem with the super white membrane. So that's why I decided to help it. I know...it may have been a bad idea. But with the last batch, one pipped and then stopped for hours and then it died. I couldn't let that happen again. Pic below is yesterday at 3pm when I came home. Does it look too white to you all?
It was at least 50 degrees humidity in the house yesterday and today is even warmer/more humid, but all the same, I added a wet sponge and a bowl of water with several more wet paper towels this morning. The wet paper towels I added last night were all dried out this morning. So that's why I added the others. I figure, at this point, better too high than too low humidity. We are only hatching chickens for our kids to experience it. They will go back to our friend's farm to live (if they make it!).
So this morning, my little chick was still alive, to my great joy! But it still had made no more progress. So I (again, I know I probably shouldn't have) helped it some more. As I took off more shell, it kicked a foot out! And it's been very slowly moving around and opens and closes its beak a lot. Doesn't chirp very much. But it's moving and seems to be making some progress.
Here it is now:
Does it look ok from what you can tell?
I don't have a way to check humidity, and I think that is the problem with the super white membrane. So that's why I decided to help it. I know...it may have been a bad idea. But with the last batch, one pipped and then stopped for hours and then it died. I couldn't let that happen again. Pic below is yesterday at 3pm when I came home. Does it look too white to you all?
It was at least 50 degrees humidity in the house yesterday and today is even warmer/more humid, but all the same, I added a wet sponge and a bowl of water with several more wet paper towels this morning. The wet paper towels I added last night were all dried out this morning. So that's why I added the others. I figure, at this point, better too high than too low humidity. We are only hatching chickens for our kids to experience it. They will go back to our friend's farm to live (if they make it!).
So this morning, my little chick was still alive, to my great joy! But it still had made no more progress. So I (again, I know I probably shouldn't have) helped it some more. As I took off more shell, it kicked a foot out! And it's been very slowly moving around and opens and closes its beak a lot. Doesn't chirp very much. But it's moving and seems to be making some progress.
Here it is now:
Does it look ok from what you can tell?
