oh my goodness! I hope you contacted them about the fan issue. That's horrible!
i had a chick that i suspect a mouse chewed on part of its wing, outside under a hen. I used Neorsporin, and the "wound" dried up. the end of the wing eventually fell off and healed fine. Never bothered the chick. So yes you can use Neosporin or other such ointment.
To put a young one down, i lay the chick under a folded paper towel on a piece of wood, hold a butcher knife over its neck at a joint, and hit the knife with a hammer or block of wood. i don't trust my aim to chop. So if the knife is already in the right spot, i can hit it hard and make sure its a quick ending. unfortunately finding a way you are comfortable with is a necessary evil when we hatch.
Hope the rest of your hatch goes better.
I plan on contacting Brinsea on Monday. They should have some sort of protective shield.
Surpisingly the chicks is doing great and since the wound was drying up, I put it back with others. Lets hope there is no permanent damage.
If you don't think you can't cull that way I was giving great advice on here when I had to cull. Basically you get a sealed tub or jar and then get a small cup put a few spoonfuls of baking soda in and a few spoonfuls of vinegar until it starts to froth up. Quickly pop the chick in there and seal tight. The froth gives off gases which will make the chick unconscious in a matter of seconds and then it will pass away. I put a towel over it as I didn't want to watch it die but I found that better for myself. Hope this helps
Do not cull like this. It's not your fault you were told this so don't think I'm annoyed at you or anything, I just want to clear this up.
This is a really horrible way to cull. Doing it like this causes the chick to suffocate to death via carbon dioxide poisoning.
The main driving force that makes animals want to take a breath of air is carbon dioxide buildup. So when you really want to take a breath it's because your body senses you have built up carbon dioxide.
So the chick's body will be telling it that it's suffocating and needs to breathe, and it will gasp for breath trying to lower that buildup, which it will not be able to. It's a horrible way to die.
If you want to cull like this, there is a method that replaces the baking soda and vinegar with Ether, which you can buy in the form if starter fluid. Using that will just slowly put the chick to sleep. It will nod off and die peacefully, having no idea that it's dying. So use ether if you want to cull this way, not baking soda and vinegar.
I had two get hurt on my lg fan. My BR still has a slice in her eye "brow". She's 2. Almost scalped her. I thought she'd lose vision in that eye, but she didn't. I used neosporin on it until it healed.
Could, nothing is impossible. Chances aren't great, but if you seal the crack with say cooled but melted wax, you can try. Many won't chance it because if it has gotten or gets bacteria in it, it can turn into an egg bomb.
Thanks everyone for their advice on culling. I gave the chick with deformed leg/foot to a chicken friend who has experience in culling. She uses kitchen shears and swears its quick and least painful.