Hatching with 2 broodies

[16 paws]

It looks like it just hatched, it is still wet

 

[Farmer Viola]

No, it is alive, I saw it moving

oh god that is horrible

Is it ok to pick up the chick? how do I clean the ants off it?

do you have dishwashing gloves? I would wear something for the ants? are they red or black? i bet when you pick it up they will scatter

 

[Farmer Viola]

it is safe to wash the chick off inside under lukewarm water (99F skin temperature)
hold the head/neck firmly away from the water

 

[Teila]

Oh no 16 paws that is awful!

I don't know about washing them, so will have to go with FV on that one .. in these circumstances I guess you have to do whatever you can on the spur of the moment; I am sure anything you do could not be worse than being covered in ants .. poor little thing!

Please let us know how you go?

 

[KendyF]

Okay, so my first chicks hatched yesterday am. Today one of the eggs broke and was smelly. The hen was off the nest teaching her babies to forage, when I noticed one of the other eggs, had externally pipped. I removed the smelly egg and moved out of the area to see if the hen was going to go back to the egg. Live chicky beak inside. She actually seemed afraid of the nest. So, I picked up the pipped egg and the remaining three intact eggs and put them in my incubator as of course this is the first cool day we have had. So,... if I let the chick and egg warm up, what do I do next any suggestions? How can I tell if the chick is distressed? I don't know how long she had been off the nest when I got home. 3 hours at most.

 

[16 paws]

OMG!
This is what I did,
I picked up the baby and started brushing the black ants off it. It is still alive but cold. One of the other eggs has externally pipped and is chirping away but there is ants inside the egg! I keep smashing them but they just keep coming out. I got a dog crate and moved all the eggs into it. Put Layla back in with them and she will not sit on them. I gave her a few minutes to see if she would settle down but she wont. She doesnt like the crate I guess. I cant put her back where she was because the ants will just come back I believe. So I made an executive decision, in panic mode, and put the rest of the eggs under one of my other broodys Penny.
I also put the ant baby in a box under a heat light and she is resting but still alive. Here she is
Hope she makes it.....

 

[Farmer Viola]

Okay, so my first chicks hatched yesterday am. Today one of the eggs broke and was smelly. The hen was off the nest teaching her babies to forage, when I noticed one of the other eggs, had externally pipped. I removed the smelly egg and moved out of the area to see if the hen was going to go back to the egg. Live chicky beak inside. She actually seemed afraid of the nest. So, I picked up the pipped egg and the remaining three intact eggs and put them in my incubator as of course this is the first cool day we have had. So,... if I let the chick and egg warm up, what do I do next any suggestions? How can I tell if the chick is distressed? I don't know how long she had been off the nest when I got home. 3 hours at most.

when are these eggs due? and she already has some chicks hatched?
I guess at this point, after moving them to the bator, I would let them finish hatching in the incubator and put them under mama at night after dark.

Quote: if the chick makes a pip hole and only makes the hole bigger, pecking in the same location and never starting to zip along the shell - that would be cause for concern.
aproximate timeline should be something like this,
internal pip happens. 12hrs later external pip happens. 12 hrs later zipping starts. 2hrs later fully zipped and hatched (could be 20 mins, could be 12hrs, zip time can vary widely).
since you dont know when the external pip happened, I would say 12hrs from now would be when you could even start feeling worried about the chick.
until then, it's perfectly normal to sit in the egg and absorb. all the veins and yolk are sucking into the body during this time; many physical changes still happening.

 

[Farmer Viola]

OMG!
This is what I did,
I picked up the baby and started brushing the black ants off it. It is still alive but cold. One of the other eggs has externally pipped and is chirping away but there is ants inside the egg! I keep smashing them but they just keep coming out. I got a dog crate and moved all the eggs into it. Put Layla back in with them and she will not sit on them. I gave her a few minutes to see if she would settle down but she wont. She doesnt like the crate I guess. I cant put her back where she was because the ants will just come back I believe. So I made an executive decision, in panic mode, and put the rest of the eggs under one of my other broodys Penny.
I also put the ant baby in a box under a heat light and she is resting but still alive. Here she is
Hope she makes it.....

Good job! That was incredibly tough for you and for that little baby.. I am so amazed that it is still alive!!! what a fighter

I can't believe they were on that poor chick, and inside the hatching egg. it gives me the heebie jeebies!!!! you made the right decision putting them under the other broody. you might try moving Layla again after dark? depending on how she acts the rest of today...

is Penny's nest anywhere near Layla's? are there any more ants around there?

in my coop I use neem oil to protect the wood against mites, it also wards off ants too. it is all natural and harmless to animals, you can dilute it with veg oil and rub it on, or I also use a sprayer.

 

[KendyF]

when are these eggs due? and she already has some chicks hatched?
I guess at this point, after moving them to the bator, I would let them finish hatching in the incubator and put them under mama at night after dark.

if the chick makes a pip hole and only makes the hole bigger, pecking in the same location and never starting to zip along the shell - that would be cause for concern.
aproximate timeline should be something like this,
internal pip happens. 12hrs later external pip happens. 12 hrs later zipping starts. 2hrs later fully zipped and hatched (could be 20 mins, could be 12hrs, zip time can vary widely).
since you dont know when the external pip happened, I would say 12hrs from now would be when you could even start feeling worried about the chick.
until then, it's perfectly normal to sit in the egg and absorb. all the veins and yolk are sucking into the body during this time; many physical changes still happening.

Thank you!
The eggs are due today. But there were flies all over everything due to the smelly egg breaking. Which was part of the reason I brought it in.

 

[16 paws]

We have had a terrible problem with ants this year, lived here 12 years and have never had ants like this.
I believe it was my fault because this morning I gave her some scrambled egg and went to work, the chicks arent due til tomorrow. Well I dont think she ate the eggs and that is what attracted the ants. She is in a sectioned off part of the coop but on the coop floor. That is where she wanted to be so I just left her there. I should of done something about the ants but I didnt see any until there was a broken egg. Then they all come marching in! I didnt know what to use that wouldnt harm the chicks. That chick had at what seems like a hundred ants on her. What a disaster....