Emergency!! Newborn Chick!! Help :/

[SterlingAcres]

So some of you know, I had to assist a chick getting out of it's shell. It was VERY dry. So when the next one pipped, I waited a good 12+ hours and nothing happened. I opened the air cell a little further, it too was drying up!... I covered it with a wet rag and after 4 hours (while I was in NJ) it crawled out on it's own...

My emergency is...
It's not fluffing. It's drying. Crusty and hard. It's still attached by a small clear strand to the eggs membrane. I didn't want to touch it, so I soaked it's feathers with warm water and stuck it in a box inside my brooder directly under the lamp, so it stays warm.

Here's a picture... What should I do? I've never had this happen to me before and I don't want the poor thing to die. It's chirping up a storm and trying to stand on it's own... I'm just concerned about the crusting issue and it's umbilical (?) cord?

I also posted this to the emergency section, but I NEED HELP FAST!

 

[chickenlady]

When I had a sticky messy chick, I used a cotton ball with warm water and slowly cleaned the whole chick. Once all the sticky membrane was off, I dried with a small towel and put under heat lamp. Dried nice and fluffy.

 

[silkiechicken]

Yep, wet cotton ball or moist towel. Sounds like your humidity was too high for the first 18 days and not high enough for the last three. Best of luck!