Hatch Day Help- Urgent!

[dustergrl]

Hello,

I had a broody hen sitting on eggs. They are pipping and hatching, but she has killed two. I have removed the remaining 4 eggs (already pipped), and put them under a heat lamp. We do not have an incubator. What can I do to make the likelihood of these chicks hatching the highest possible?

Thank you for your help!

 

[Lil Peeps]

Make sure wherever you have the eggs it stays very humid! Like 65% and above, or else the chicks can get shrink-wrapped. Lots of bowls of warm water and damp washcloths and paper towels. You can even mist around the eggs. Whatever it takes to keep the humidity up.

 

[dustergrl]

Thank you! We have the straw they are in moistened, damp towels over the box, and a bowl of water in the box. The humidity gauge we have says 72% so we're doing well. Still trying to get the temp above 84, but we're trying. If it wasn't meant to be, it wasn't meant to be, but we're doing the best we can.

 

[Lil Peeps]

Thank you! We have the straw they are in moistened, damp towels over the box, and a bowl of water in the box. The humidity gauge we have says 72% so we're doing well. Still trying to get the temp above 84, but we're trying. If it wasn't meant to be, it wasn't meant to be, but we're doing the best we can.

Yeah it sounds like you are doing great on humidity so far. Watch the humidity when you get the temps up though because as a general rule I've found that as the temp goes up the humidity goes down. What kind of heatlamp do you have? Is it the red kind used in chick brooders? I've heard somewhere about wrapping tin foil around in a homemade incubator to contain heat before. But don't know exactly how to do it. But these people were using lightbulbs. I don't know if it works the same with heatlamps. I wish I could help more!

 

[dustergrl]

We do have one of those, but it's in our barn and the chicks are in the house. We have a halogen work lamp and incandescent light on them. We are currently at 94 degrees and 67% humidity.

 

[kinsiebrooke]

If the chicks get shrink wrapped it's easy to help hatch them. You just need tweezers and some small sissors. Slowly peel the shell of and then the membrane. Be carful not to hurt the chick in the process.

 

[dustergrl]

Thanks! How do I know if the chick has gotten shrink wrapped?

 

[kinsiebrooke]

Do you have any pictures of the eggs?

 

[Lil Peeps]

And be sure that the chick is completely ready to come out before you attempt this. Because if you hit a live blood vessel the chick can bleed to death. One way to check is by lightly dampening the membrane by the pip when it is big enough and if the membrane is transparent and clear the chick is ready. But if it looks pink and/or you can see blood vessels still the chick is not ready and do not assist it. If the blood vessels haven't been absorbed by the chick yet that means that yolk hasn't either. Taking a chick out prematurely could mean death for the baby. It sounds like you are doing good on the temp and humidity. Ive heard at hatch time you don't hve to have the temp quite as high as during incubation. I've heard at least for still air incubators you can keep the temp closer to 98 instead of 99.5 during hatch.

I ope all four of your babies make it out and are the cutest, strongest chicks ever do you!

 

[kinsiebrooke]

I would give it 24 hours before assisting the chick. We just had to help three of ours hatch do to a bad incubator they all shrink wrapped all are healthy now. One of ours was hatched prematurely with the yolk sack still attached but we just put it back under the heat and it dried up and eventually fell of. I will send a picture of what a shrink wrapped chick looks like.