HELP! Early hatcher with half shell missing and veiny membrane

[quailchick16]

One of my 14 quail eggs has decided to pip early, over 27 hours ago now so I decided to help her out and carefully started peeling away some shell to my surprise the top literally just popped off and now there's half an exposed baby quail chick with her head and beak poking out of her inner membrane that still has red veins on it? I put the egg back in the inc and left it at that but she's drying out quickly so I've been re-wetting her membrane every hour to keep it moist so she doesn't shrink wrapped. The problem is I don't have any paper towels to help keep the membrane wet when I go to bed. I would stay up with her but I have a 1 year old to get up with at 7 and it's now nearly midnight! Do any of you lovely people have any advice for me? Also how long would it take for her to absorb the blood from the veins?

 

[AmyLynn2374]

One of my 14 quail eggs has decided to pip early, over 27 hours ago now so I decided to help her out and carefully started peeling away some shell to my surprise the top literally just popped off and now there's half an exposed baby quail chick with her head and beak poking out of her inner membrane that still has red veins on it? I put the egg back in the inc and left it at that but she's drying out quickly so I've been re-wetting her membrane every hour to keep it moist so she doesn't shrink wrapped. The problem is I don't have any paper towels to help keep the membrane wet when I go to bed. I would stay up with her but I have a 1 year old to get up with at 7 and it's now nearly midnight! Do any of you lovely people have any advice for me? Also how long would it take for her to absorb the blood from the veins?

If you have any bacitracin you can put that on the membrane and it'll help keep it moist. You can use a wet clean cloth in there as well. Make sure the humidity stays up there. Even with high humidity it'll be hard keeping it moist w/just the humidity with that much membrane exposed.
It can take anywhere up to 24 hours for the vascular system to totally shut down.

 

[quailchick16]

Thanks Amy could I ask what bacitracin is? And I will stay up as long as I can ando add the extra wet cloth with warm water and also cover the membrane range before I go bed as I will be up early to keep my eyes on on her.

 

[quailchick16]

Just googled it and nope no bacitracin hun anything else I could use could I not cover it with the damp cloth and add a wet sponge?

 

[AmyLynn2374]

Just googled it and nope no bacitracin hun anything else I could use could I not cover it with the damp cloth and add a wet sponge?

Petroleum jelly/vasiline? I don't think I would cover it with the cloth, but maybe nest it in the cloth?

 

[quailchick16]

Hi again well it's half 9 now, I put a layer of vasaline on her membrane and wrapped her in a damp towel before I went to bed at 2. I awoke at 7 with my toddler and her membranes were still wet I'm so glad she made it through the night poor chick, she is using her wing/foot to push on the membrane from inside and it was also stuck on her head and stuck to her eyes I did add extra moisture using a cotton bud and eased it off her eye. It seems she is too weak to rip the membrane but I'm glad because there are still little blood veins. What do you suggest from here?

 

[quailchick16]

UPDATE - it's half 1 now and I noticed her veins are a lot thinner and hardly viewable where she is exposed so I gently really wet the membrane and used a dull nail cuticle item and gently eased the membrane off her head and she is wiggling more and opened her eyes and just glared at me opening and closing her mouth, now her head is free she is trying to clamber out, she still isn't peeping though! Hopefully she could be out tonight!

 

[AmyLynn2374]

UPDATE - it's half 1 now and I noticed her veins are a lot thinner and hardly viewable where she is exposed so I gently really wet the membrane and used a dull nail cuticle item and gently eased the membrane off her head and she is wiggling more and opened her eyes and just glared at me opening and closing her mouth, now her head is free she is trying to clamber out, she still isn't peeping though! Hopefully she could be out tonight!

That's good news! You may want some sav a chick or nutri drench or sugar water to offer her after she hatches. She may be a bit weak from the hard hatch or even a bit dehydrated. Hope she does good from here on out!

 

[quailchick16]

Thank you Amy, will get some sugar water for her and I do too as it's day 20 now and had no others hatched I cracked a few and they were fully formed but dead poor babies just could not get into the air cell and they did have big yolks still? I'm guessing humidity problems? It's made me quite dubious about whether this girl will make it as I don't no if she has her yolk still? I really don't no what the next step is at all other than leave her be and keep her moist

 

[AmyLynn2374]

Thank you Amy, will get some sugar water for her and I do too as it's day 20 now and had no others hatched I cracked a few and they were fully formed but dead poor babies just could not get into the air cell and they did have big yolks still? I'm guessing humidity problems? It's made me quite dubious about whether this girl will make it as I don't no if she has her yolk still? I really don't no what the next step is at all other than leave her be and keep her moist

Pretty much all you can do, but at least you know that you tried everything you could and gave her a chance. Sounds like humidity to me too if they couldn't get into the air cell.