Had to assist with hatch; need help with helping baby

EggDropSoup

Chirping
7 Years
Sep 12, 2012
108
8
81
So I gave some fertile eggs to a broody hen and they all hatched night before last, with the exception of one. The chick pipped and made a hole that I could see its beak through, but had not progressed beyond that for 12 hours and was making very distressed peeps. At midnight last night, I decided to intervene.

I'm glad I did. The blood vessels had all receded and the membrane was like glue. The chick was clearly strong, but having a great deal of difficulty with the membrane.

I got the baby out of the shell and put it under mom to dry and rest.

So now I have two questions:

As of this morning, the babies who hatched night before last are walking around the broody cage, sampling chick starter and scratching around. The one I had to help seems to be having difficulty walking. It can stand, but when it tries to walk, it trips and falls. One of its legs appears as though it might be slightly spraddled. Should I give it a full day to get its land legs and then make a splint? Is it possible to splint a baby who is going to be with its mom and siblings?

Second question: the baby didn't dry fluffy, but is rather crusty in spots because of the glue-like membrane. Is there a safe, gentle way to clean it off??

Thank you!!
 
So I gave some fertile eggs to a broody hen and they all hatched night before last, with the exception of one. The chick pipped and made a hole that I could see its beak through, but had not progressed beyond that for 12 hours and was making very distressed peeps. At midnight last night, I decided to intervene.

I'm glad I did. The blood vessels had all receded and the membrane was like glue. The chick was clearly strong, but having a great deal of difficulty with the membrane.

I got the baby out of the shell and put it under mom to dry and rest.

So now I have two questions:

As of this morning, the babies who hatched night before last are walking around the broody cage, sampling chick starter and scratching around. The one I had to help seems to be having difficulty walking. It can stand, but when it tries to walk, it trips and falls. One of its legs appears as though it might be slightly spraddled. Should I give it a full day to get its land legs and then make a splint? Is it possible to splint a baby who is going to be with its mom and siblings?

Second question: the baby didn't dry fluffy, but is rather crusty in spots because of the glue-like membrane. Is there a safe, gentle way to clean it off??

Thank you!!
I would consider pulling it (and maybe a friend) for a couple days and fixing that leg. Everything I have read states that early intervention is the best and untreated spraddle leg can lead to serious issues including death. As for the non fluffy, yes, it is the dried membrane glued against the down.

Yes, you can use some warm water to gently remove the stickiness. If it's real bad, dawn blue liquid dish detergent is safe on animals as well. Just make sure that he is dried off and doesn't get a chill while wet.
 
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Looks like the little chick just needed to get his or her "sea legs" in order. I got home from work and discovered the chick walking around just fine. It's the one in the foreground. Can't wait to see what this little mutt grows up to be!
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