Emergency hatch, had to help. Did i do the right thing?

[Sheriloo3]

Hello all! The deed has already been done, as I didn't have a minute to spare looking up info before I did it. Basically, I'm looking to find out if I did the right thing and if I'm on the right track!

I hatched 9 Ayam Cemani eggs yesterday (certainly not my fist hatch, but my first emergency for sure!). All went very well, according to plan. I had one left before I went to bed, that had a good sized pip hole and was very active, so I thought it would be fine and I was not in the least bit concerned. Well.... I woke up this morning to a surprise; the baby was still in the egg, still the same sized hole, no progress at all! I was immediately concerned that it died overnight, so I popped the incubator open to take a look. To my surprise, the baby was still alive and well, but I could tell there was something wrong.

It's face was completely covered with dried stuff (membrane mostly) and as I peeled a little shell away to take a closer look, I could see it was dry in several places, basically shrink wrapped. I peeled away some more shell, until I could get a really clear picture, and I dabbed some water on the dry spots to help loosen things up.

It became clear this baby was not going to be able to pop out on it's on so I had to intervene. I broke the shell all the way around, started snipping at the membrane (stopped when I got a little blood), worked the stuck membrane off the body so it could move more freely, and eventually worked the entire shell off so all that was left was the membrane, yolk and chick. I then wrapped the baby in a damp (warm) cloth, put it in a cup back in the incubator. The yolk has not been fully absorbed yet and the membrane is not fully able to detach without bleeding, so I figure, as long as it is safe and warm, it will eventually work those parts itself and be on it's way.

I gave a teenie bit of diluted nurti-drench already, just to give her a little more of an advantage.

She is peacefully resting and doing her thing, I just want to know, did I do the right thing? Should I do anything else or let nature take it's course at this point? When the membrane and yolk are done doing what they need to do, should I give anything further (more nutri-drench, electrolytes, etc.)? Is the wet towel a good idea or will that make the baby cold? Should it be left to dry out now that it's out of the shell or should it stay moistened for now?

Any help would be so very appreciated!

 

[BirdsBeesTrees]

I'd mist the naval with vetericyn and put a dry paper towel around it.
If you have a fan in your incubator it will chill the chick in a wet cloth and it will die.

 

[AltonaAcres]

She was probably not ready to hatch yet if her yolk is not absorbed and she's still attached. was she malpositioned? Where did she pip?

 

[Sheriloo3]

I'd mist the naval with vetericyn and put a dry paper towel around it.
If you have a fan in your incubator it will chill the chick in a wet cloth and it will die.

Thank you for that! Yes, there is a fan, which is why I was not sure about the towel. I will take that off now. As for the vetericyn, should I do that now or wait till the yolk is done absorbing and cord falls off? It is obviously not healed yet, but there is nothing hanging out which is a promising sign.

 

[Sheriloo3]

She was probably not ready to hatch yet if her yolk is not absorbed and she's still attached. was she malpositioned? Where did she pip?

She seemed to be doing well yesterday and seemed to be in a good position for hatching. She looked just like the rest did. They all hatched by 6pm yesterday and the first one hatched around 6am yesterday. This one pipped in the early afternoon, so it was well over 12 hours that she was open to the air and was very much shrink wrapped when I started opening it up.

 

[BirdsBeesTrees]

I'd spray it on now. It will help to curb any bacteria that could be introduced.

 

[Sheriloo3]

I'd spray it on now. It will help to curb any bacteria that could be introduced.

Will do. Thank you. I took her out of the towel, now she is just resting in the incubator. The yolk is gone, but the cord is still attached. She seems to be very tired, but breathing strong and still cheeping from time to time.

 

[Trisseh]

She hadn’t finished absorbing yolk, the membrane bled when you snipped it = she wasn’t ready to hatch yet, period. Nothing you can do to change that now, but definitely a good idea to read through the assisted hatching guide when you have time, for the next time. we’ve all been there at least once so not attacking you here, just giving you tools for future to make sure of a good outcome.
Assisted Hatching Guide

it’s a delicate balance with chicks that either hatch with their yolk unabsorbed because they’re silly early birds or we help too soon, because the possibility of it rupturing or becoming infected is high. Less handling is better, and a dry paper towel is better than damp or wet.

I see that her yolk is absorbed now, so yes, applying a bacteriostat or antiseptic at this point is warranted. I usually dip all my babies navels with iodine but your vetericyn is good, use that.
to minimize trauma to the cord and vessels (if there are still active vessels there) its usually best to put them in something so they don’t drag shell or membrane behind, get it caught, and pull bits out that shouldn’t come out. A small cup lined with a dry paper towel works well. If there aren’t any vessels that are still active, you can snip the cord close to the egg membrane, but only if the cord looks translucent and the veins are dried up in the membrane. Good luck with her and hope she does well! If she bled a fair bit and was stressed in the egg, she’ll probably be a little slower to get going than the others and you may have to be a little more hands on with her, but it for sure can be done.

 

[Sheriloo3]

She hadn’t finished absorbing yolk, the membrane bled when you snipped it = she wasn’t ready to hatch yet, period. Nothing you can do to change that now, but definitely a good idea to read through the assisted hatching guide when you have time, for the next time. we’ve all been there at least once so not attacking you here, just giving you tools for future to make sure of a good outcome.
Assisted Hatching Guide

it’s a delicate balance with chicks that either hatch with their yolk unabsorbed because they’re silly early birds or we help too soon, because the possibility of it rupturing or becoming infected is high. Less handling is better, and a dry paper towel is better than damp or wet.

I see that her yolk is absorbed now, so yes, applying a bacteriostat or antiseptic at this point is warranted. I usually dip all my babies navels with iodine but your vetericyn is good, use that.
to minimize trauma to the cord and vessels (if there are still active vessels there) its usually best to put them in something so they don’t drag shell or membrane behind, get it caught, and pull bits out that shouldn’t come out. A small cup lined with a dry paper towel works well. If there aren’t any vessels that are still active, you can snip the cord close to the egg membrane, but only if the cord looks translucent and the veins are dried up in the membrane. Good luck with her and hope she does well! If she bled a fair bit and was stressed in the egg, she’ll probably be a little slower to get going than the others and you may have to be a little more hands on with her, but it for sure can be done.

Thank you so much for this info. No feelings of being attacked at all, so no worries there! Honestly, I was just so worried about her not being able to get out when I saw that she was all dried up and couldn't move, all I could think was "I need to get her out of this egg"!

I actually work from home now (thanks COVID! ) so I was working at the same time as I was trying to help the baby, so I was already multitasking and had not time to search the forums before I began the task.

Like I said, she seems to be breathing strong, she is resting, but still looks good. She doesn't seem to be laboring in any way, just resting. I can't seem to find any of my anti-bac sprays so I'm going to run to the store on my lunch break and grab some iodine for her belly.

I'll keep updating throughout the day, and will certain run any questions by the professionals BEFORE I dive in!

 

[Sheriloo3]

**UPDATE***

Despite my best efforts, our little baby, Lucky, has passed. Poor thing. Thank you all for your help. I'll be better prepared next time, though I guess it's good to remember, you can't save them all, no matter how hard you try!