Getting Nervous!

[cashdl]

I wouldn't worry about his head being on the narrow end of the egg now that his beak is out so to speak. Tomorrow if he isn't out you can slowly help him. Right now he is probably just resting.

 

[wolfpak]

Just be CERTAIN that the membrane covering the beak/nose has a hole in it so air can get in. The biddie is probably sleeping. Pick it up and talk to it -- see if it responds. I picked a few of mine out of the shell, CAREFULLY, and they are fine so far (day 5 after hatch). They weren't making any progress, and thought I might lose them. Just stop if there is any blood! you can make the hole a tad larger, but be careful of the blood vessels in the inner membrane. Hope it helps.

When I went to investigate the non-hatchers on day 23, I broke into the air sac part of the eggs of the non-hatchers. Unexpectedly, I had one that was still moving under the membrane - not even close to pip... hardly had an eggtooth... and with the big end of the eggshell off! So I poked a hole in the membrane right by the beak, and covered the exposed end of the egg from the "breathing hole" down with a small piece of wet paper towel for a patch. It kept drying out, so I put the other corner of the little paper patch hanging in a little bottle lid in the incubator.

Well the next morning it was still alive. Left it longer... and in the afternoon I picked it out of the shell. Its head was swollen up a bit, but I put it on a dry paper towel in a plastic box in the brooder... thought it was a gone-r for sure. It kept breathing, dried off, lifted its head now & then... not too encouraging, but not gone yet....
Eventually... I'll be darned if the thing isn't running around just like its hatch-mates now a couple days later! It may not make it, but darn it, they can sturdier than we think sometimes -- (NOT a recommended course of action... but if you're discarding the left-over, it turned out a whole lot better than I would have imagined)

 

[wolfpak]

BTW, your picture looks like all is well & normal!

 

[wolfpak]

 

[ritzzy]

Thank you! That definitely does help. I put a straw through a little hole in the bator and gently pushed it, and now he's chirping up a storm. He's kind of "kicking" at the membrane, I'm sure trying to get out. He has livened up quite a bit.

Just to be prepared, and if worse comes to worse, HOW exactly can i peel him out carefully? Anybody got good instructions on that?

 

[wolfpak]

Okay - to "pick the chick out" you simply pick a couple small pieces of shell off around the "zip line," which is basically around the top of the shell at about the same distance from the top as where the pip-hole is. Then wait. Stop immediately if there is blood. There are 3 layers around the chick in the egg at hatch time. The shell, the tougher white membrane, and the translucent veined membrane immediately around the chick. That inner membrane has a whole lot of blood vessels in it. If it gets torn, it will bleed. A speck or two won't matter, but much more than that is bad. So take it easy, and gently pick a small piece of shell or two off. Wait. Put it back for a while to keep it warm. Take it out again and repeat. It may simply take over, or you may need to pick a bit more of the "zip line" off.

I had a couple that I had to do that with.... and eventually the top of shell was off. Then I waited a bit. After a while I picked a bit more shell off a couple, and voila - out came the chick. All were fine except the other late hatcher... who had the air pocket on the side of the egg, and was a very large chick. Weak from the start. It will probably be out of the shell by morning on its own. As long as it can get air, it is out of immediate danger.

Best luck... let us know how it goes!

 

[ritzzy]

Well last night, the chick seemed to be doing worse, so I helped him out a little but by taking off some shell like you said. Went to bed hoping he would be out and this morning....nothing. He's still in there. Hasn't moved an inch. He is still alive and I noticed he tore a tiny part of membrane but that's it. I am at a loss....I just don't know what to do.Someone help me?

 

[mrbstephens]

I think it's time to intervene. Try wrapping the egg with a warm damp cloth.

 

[wolfpak]

If it were me, I'd pick him out NOW. Take it slow - holding it in a warm cloth is a good idea. Pic the top part off, pulling bits of shell away from the tougher white membrane first. Pull the white membrane back carefully and slowly. Stop if it bleeds, give it a few minutes to clot. Then carefully try to slide the clear vessel filled membrane down off its head. Talk to it encouragingly while you do this. Its time! If she's still attached to the bottom of the egg, set her down on dry paper towel or small cloth ( I use the microfiber ones) and let attached cord dry a bit -- some of the shell will be attached, too! Hope all is well....

 

[ritzzy]

Well, I took him out. He is alive, but I think I may have a problem. For one, his tummy looks VERY bloated. This definitely was not the case with the first two that hatched. Second, It appears that the navel is sticking out more than it should, and it looks like some membrane is stuck on it. Third, he is churping a ton, but not really moving. He hasn't moved his legs or even tried to get up. Is there ANY hope at all for this chick? What could all this be from??