Does this chick look ok? Please help!

[chickeegirl]

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?


Am I crazy??

 

[mattsinger]

I cant tell from the last pic...is it totally out of the shell? Is the yolk sack all absorbed?

 

[chickeegirl]

No, it's still sitting in the shell, but is slowly pushing its way out. I have no idea about the yolk sac...how would I tell? Sorry, I'm such a newbie.

 

[mattsinger]

No, it's still sitting in the shell, but is slowly pushing its way out. I have no idea about the yolk sac...how would I tell? Sorry, I'm such a newbie.

if the shell is that open, you should be able to see it....should be below the chick. if its absorbed, it will look like an empty shriveled up thing attached to the chick. If it has not been absorbed, it should be obvious there is still stuff in it.

 

[mattsinger]

just curious...do you know what kind of chick it is?

 

[Ms Steak]

I have no advice, but I am really wishing that little chick luck. Go chick go!!!

 

[chickeegirl]

No clue what kind of chicken it is. It appears to have black feathers with a little bit of yellow feathers as well. The egg is brown.

Here is another picture from just a few minutes ago.

I can't tell what the red and yellow is on the right (around its belly area, I guess?) Is that yolk sac? Or its belly with some membrane stuck to it?





Here's the second one that pipped last night. Several drops of yellowish/reddish fluid dripped out of it when it pipped. Is that ok? It has made a little bit more progress. I believe this one is a bantam (smaller egg).

Will this one be able to pip out with the super white/tough looking membrane? Am I worrying too much? The yellow that you see poking through is the membrane I think, that's stained from the stuff that leaked? You can see it underneath where it dripped.

 

[chickeegirl]

It's been about 12 hours now since the second one pipped. It had a tiny bit more pipped this morning, but it's not rocking, no chirping. Thoughts? It's so hard to leave them alone, especially after losing our entire first batch last month. Is its membrane too white/thick looking?

 

[mattsinger]

yes, the red and yellow glob is pro0bably the yolk sack. it need time to be absorbed.
Sorry, I cant help on the membrane question...maybe someone else will chime in. I hear ya on the loss of a hatch....I just finished with 17 eggs and only had one make it out.

 

[chickeegirl]

I hope it does reabsorb. Sorry about your last hatch as well. If I had known how emotional this would be, I'm not sure that I would have done it!