First hatch problems? How much do I help?

[jjxj]

Hi to my new friends!! I did a bit of searching, but I am kinda in emergency mode. I thought after 21 days they would hatch or not, until this morning I read on here about folks having to help sometimes. I do not have a hygrometer and I am pretty sure that I screwed up the humidity. Last night (day 22) one pipped and I left it alone and this morning it hadn't changed and I assume it is dead. Reading on here this morning led me to help two out of their shells. The first one has been lying down or trying to get upright. It seems strong and is still cheeping, however it is still attached to the yolk sac and a bit of shell. Should I leave it alone and let it sort itself out or tug a bit on the remaining shell?
The second chick is still sitting in 1/3 of its' shell and doesn't seem too motivated to get itself out. Should I help it further as I did with the first one? Her head is up and she is cheeping, but just not anxious to get out.
The strong outer membrane, next to the shell, was much more leathery than I expected and I think my humidity was too low. I peeled most of the membranes off of the chicks, both the outer white one and the clear ones next to the chicks.
Any help on getting these kids on their feet would be much appreciated.
If this is already posted somewhere I apologize. Like I said, I am in a bit of a crisis mode.
Thank you.

 

[gumpsgirl]

First off, pop a wet sponge in the bator and don't open the lid again. Second, you really should never help as you could end up just killing the chicks. Don't get me wrong, I have helped chicks before but never before day 23 or 24 and then when I am pretty sure that they are shrink wrapped in the shell. Leave things alone and let nature takes its course. The chicks won't hatch until their yolk sac is completely absorbed. They can pip before that time, but they won't completely hatch out. I've had chicks pip for 2 days before they ended up hatching. So get a sponge in that bator and leave it be.

By the way, welcome to BYC!

 

[jjxj]

I'll do just that. Thanks for the quick reply and I look forward to being a part of this community.

 

[Mrs. Feathers]

Yep...chickies probably just need a little more time.

This site has saved me so many times....a great place for information.
I hope the rest of your hatch continues to go well.

 

[jjxj]

Hi. There are now nine in the brooder and 2 just hatched that are still in the incubator. All is well so far.
Thanks again for the help.
Jay

 

[gumpsgirl]

Glad to hear that things are working out!

How did the two that you helped end up doing?

 

[A.T. Hagan]

In my admittedly still limited experience I am coming to the conclusion that any chick that hasn't hatched more than 48 hours after the first one comes out likely has problems that will make them not worthy of keeping them. This assumes the humidity and temperature were kept in their appropriate ranges. Every bird I've helped out of its shell has proven to later needing to be culled.

 

[angelique_redhead]

I had to help 3 out of their shells out of 25. 4 never pipped at all. The 3 were shrink wrapped despite a humidity of ~70%.

They are doing just fine.

: Angelique

 

[Chickenfarmer 1-2-b]

I have helped 3 chicks out in the past after more than 18 hrs of pip, all are healthy now. Two of them for sure would have died in the shells if I didn't intervene.

 

[jjxj]

Hi. It has not been a good day. This morning there were 10 healthy birds in the brooder and two dead ones in the incubator. One in the incubator was completely hatched and the other had about 1/4 of the egg pipped away. There was also another completely hatched that seemed healthy but now is almost gone.

When I got home from work there was one hatched in the incubator but it just wants to lie in its' back. Four little ones (one of which was in the incubator this morning) are all but gone and three were lying on their sides with their legs outstretched and shaking.

Three of the older ones still seemed quite satisfied, but within 10 minutes one of them was on its' side like the others.

Of the two that still seem healthy, one of them was the first one that I helped.

They are in a cool basement with food and water and a heat lamp. I had the heat lamp on one end of a ~2'x4' box, about 20 inches over the chicks. They weren't huddled together like they were cold so I moved the lamp higher. It is off for now but I'll be plugging it in soon and directing the light away from them. I'm afraid they got too hot

This isn't as fun today as it was Saturday-but a friend is already gathering more eggs for me.

Jay