Hands on hatching and help

[BigWeenMachine]

So the membrane started to turn yellow on that lil guy and he pushed and squirmed until I opened it back up and pulled the membrane out. He is now just about out. He has his head and wings out and its just his bottom half he has to pull out. He looks strong though, actually a lot stronger than the first chick looked when it first hatched 2 days ago. I'll feel a lot better once he gets out so I can see his legs and abdomen....

 

[AmyLynn2374]

So the membrane started to turn yellow on that lil guy and he pushed and squirmed until I opened it back up and pulled the membrane out. He is now just about out. He has his head and wings out and its just his bottom half he has to pull out. He looks strong though, actually a lot stronger than the first chick looked when it first hatched 2 days ago. I'll feel a lot better once he gets out so I can see his legs and abdomen....

 

[BigWeenMachine]

Lol, he's out!!! No blood. No yolk sack hanging around. He pushed out and stood up immediately, only to fall back to his side again, lol. He looks great and is peeping around like crazy!!!! Sooo glad I helped him because I think he was just stuck.

 

[AmyLynn2374]

Lol, he's out!!! No blood. No yolk sack hanging around. He pushed out and stood up immediately, only to fall back to his side again, lol. He looks great and is peeping around like crazy!!!! Sooo glad I helped him because I think he was just stuck.

Sometimes all they need is a little help.

 

[BigWeenMachine]

Yep, so glad for all the help I had from all of you guys. I woulda just let him sit and die because of all the horror stories you research about how you're supposed to let them do it on their own or else they'll be weak and won't survive. Phooey, lol.

 

[BigWeenMachine]

I did just notice though that its dragging its shell around with it. The yolk isn't hanging out but there is a tiny yellow string looking thing attached that has him connected to the shell still. Maybe he wasn't quite ready. Will that dry out and detach on its own or should I snip it to make sure he doesn't pull something out of his abdomen???

 

[AmyLynn2374]

Yep, so glad for all the help I had from all of you guys. I woulda just let him sit and die because of all the horror stories you research about how you're supposed to let them do it on their own or else they'll be weak and won't survive. Phooey, lol.

I know I joke a lot about hands on vs hands off, but in all seriousness, I have only had one assist that didn't grow into a healthy strong chicken. I do believe that you need to give them time, and I don't go into an unpipped shell. I am not saying that every chick I've assisted wouldn't make it out w/o help, though I know a couple there is no doubt about that. I start an assist at 24 hours after a pip, even if it's just widening the pip whole and they finish. I don't subscribe to the 'if they have to have help, they aren't worthy' mentality.

I do believe it depends on the reason for assist as to whether they are going to survive. I think if you are assisting a chick at day 24 you have a much higher chance of that chick not making it versus a chick that is stuck or not in a good position to hatch at day 21.

I think that helping gets a bad rep because it is not done at the right time, under the wrong circumstances or without the right knowledge to assist. I believe many people that are against helping because they "always die anyway" are either not helping in the right time frame or are botching the assist, or there is something going on with the chick that can not be seen and yes, would have died either way. I can even understand those that are reluctant to help and then have to cull after, with the attitude that it's easier if they die on their own. I just can't do that. If there's a chance, I have to help. If that means I have to deal with special needs or after death cull, then I will deal with that.

We can't always save them, but in my world I can always try.

I know that there is a big difference between my little raising chickens as a hobby and those that raise for the soul purpose of producing SOP or quality sales and that the business aspect is much harder than the bleeding heart hatcher (why I could never make a business of raising for profit.)

What bothers me is the SOP and breeders belief that everyone should hold the same philosophy of the quality and many condemn the bleeding hearts for not being hardcore. I can accept that people have different standards, I can't accept that hatchers don't allow others to have their own idea of standards and scare the living crap out of new hatchers by warnings of not helping or not experiencing the hatch.

 

[AmyLynn2374]

I did just notice though that its dragging its shell around with it. The yolk isn't hanging out but there is a tiny yellow string looking thing attached that has him connected to the shell still. Maybe he wasn't quite ready. Will that dry out and detach on its own or should I snip it to make sure he doesn't pull something out of his abdomen???

Usually it'll pull itself away and be fine. Sometimes there will be a touch of blood at the "navel" where it separates. As long as there is not a lot of bleeding, it's fine. If it doesn't separate itself, you can tie it off by the navel and cut it. I'e never had to do that. Whatever you do, don't pull it.

 

[BigWeenMachine]

Just checked it again after some yard work and it is already off. I'm not seeing any blood or signs of distress. He is just sitting there looking and screaming at me to let him out already, lol. He looks way better than the first one did when he hatched. Archie, the first, laid his head on the floor and flopped about like a fish outta water for about 4 hours before he finally started sitting upright like a healthy duckling. This lil guy is already sitting upright, holding his head up, and wandering around the hatcher like he's a sopping wet 2 day old duck.

 

[BigWeenMachine]

So I just started wondering why the ducks are having such a hard time getting out of their shells. Thanks to my wandering peacocks that aggravate my neighbor, I let my birds have access to meat bird, all-flock, wild gamebird, scratch grains, and layer feeds (In hopes that my peacocks would stay home but they still think the exact same brand of scratch feed my neighbor has across the road tastes better than the scratch I feed them). I guess I don't know what layer feed does but I am thinking it is probably for making eating eggs nice and hard so they don't break very easily. Or is designed to make healthy shells for hatching? Just wondered if the access to layer feed might have made those eggs too hard for these lil duckies to break out of....