Help Me 😩😩

[egreynolds]

I came home from work to find a few chicks peaking out from under one of my hens. I look down and i see two chicks had been dropped out of the nesting box hatched & struggling. i picked them up got all of the ants off of them and immediately took them inside & placed them under a heat lap. I walk back out to find a chick halfway out of the egg. One of my other hens was pecking it so he/she may be injured, also the poor baby has few feathers compared to the other two. I run it inside because he was covered in ants and there was blood so i ran turned the sink on and placed him under warm water he started to move around so i helped remove the cracked egg remaining and put him with the other two chicks. i go back out to find another egg not hatched but cracked so i placed it under heat too. Now what? Do i need to feed them? i have them in a basket, is that okay? How can i help them survive? I panicked when i saw the other chickens pecking them i have no clue what i’m doing or if what i did was right. Please anyone give me some advice! is the heat lamp too far away?

 

[Dusty Chicken]

I have no experience with incubating chicks so please take that into consideration with my advice. If it were me I would treat them as any 1 day old chicks that I purchased from a hatchery. Give them heat, apx 95 degrees, give them some bedding that is dry (not cedar chips), give them water & feed, starter feed is ideal. If you do not have any starter feed them give them what you have, you may need to break it up into smaller pieces for them to eat. Tomorrow take stock of the situation & gather the supplies you need to fix up the brooder. Good luck!

 

[egreynolds]

i found my thermometer thank goodness! they’re at 95 degrees & in a basket with fabric. should i put them on a towel? they are stumbling around and i’m worried that they’re not going to drink on their own.

 

[Dusty Chicken]

I am glad you found your thermometer! I would think the most important thing is to keep them warm & dry.

 

[Dusty Chicken]

Is the chick you run under the warm water still wet? If so you may want to use a hair dryer on low to dry out the chick??

 

[BigBlueHen53]

They do not need to eat or drink for 24 hours, maybe more, after hatching, so don't panic. You will need to teach them to eat and drink. Get a chick waterer from your feed store, don't put water in an open container. Dip their beaks in it. Let them just drink first before introducing the feed, chick starter. Same thing, dip their beaks in it. They will catch on. Paper towels or puppy pee pads are good foor bedding to start with.

 

[egreynolds]

Is the chick you run under the warm water still wet? If so you may want to use a hair dryer on low to dry out the chick??

poor thing is definitely premature. i read on another thread to wrap them in a wet paper towel and put them in a open gallon bag under the lamp??

 

[egreynolds]

They do not need to eat or drink for 24 hours, maybe more, after hatching, so don't panic. You will need to teach them to eat and drink. Get a chick waterer from your feed store, don't put water in an open container. Dip their beaks in it. Let them just drink first before introducing the feed, chick starter. Same thing, dip their beaks in it. They will catch on. Paper towels or puppy pee pads are good foor bedding to start with.

thank you so much for your help! i’m changing the basket to have paper towels now! i have the top to a can of pringle’s can with a little water in it in there do you think this is okay?

 

[featherhead007]

Improvision! I love it, but sometimes death is a result no matter how hard we try.

 

[Dusty Chicken]

How are you all doing this morning?