Help!!!! Opened incubated egg too soon! Chick's still alive?!?

[loveourbirds]

im assuming we have the same screen layout.

at the top of the screen by the backyard chickens logo, there is a button labeled "learning center" click on it.
a row of 4 or so pictures will come up towards the top of the next page. above it there is a blue ribbon, click on member pages in the blue ribbon.
on the page that comes up, on the left hand side there is a blue button labeled "add a member page". click on that and a form pops to start your page.

you cant change the title, but you can change any of the other text and add to it as you see fit.

 

[kitkat2498]

im assuming we have the same screen layout.

at the top of the screen by the backyard chickens logo, there is a button labeled "learning center" click on it.
a row of 4 or so pictures will come up towards the top of the next page. above it there is a blue ribbon, click on member pages in the blue ribbon.
on the page that comes up, on the left hand side there is a blue button labeled "add a member page". click on that and a form pops to start your page.

you cant change the title, but you can change any of the other text and add to it as you see fit.

Any ideas for the title?

 

[loveourbirds]

i really dont know. "saving a struggling chick" but its up to you. catchy titles normally work best, i cant come up with anything i would call "catchy".

this is probably the best i can come up with "put on your chicken shoes and pull up your chicken chairs" but then that kind of pulls your mind in the wrong direction.

 

[Phoenixxx]

Re: shavings: pine is a very close second to cedar in toxicity. You know pine sol, the cleaner? Yeah, it kills germs etc because it's actually made from pine oil. I've kept small animals (rats, mice) as pets for many years prior to getting chickens and found out the hard way that my shavings were the cause of many early deaths resulting from respiratory failure. As chicks are so little and so close to the ground/shavings, don't chance it. In a big coop, where the ventilation is good and the birds are grown and spending the bulk of their time in fresh air, go for it! But as little ones kept in a small apartment of sorts (I love how you built them toy furniture!) get aspen/softwood or the softer (recycled paper) alternatives

 

[missyloupoppet]

I am dealing with the same thing. Sort of a newbie, using a home made incubator with a circulating fan and 25 watt bulb. A couple questions also. First, I locked down my incubator on day 14, today is day 20. I also got concerned, and tried the float test on a few and they floated and one bobbed, but no signs of pips. So yesterday morning I decided to open one and check, and the first had not been fertile (I did not float test that one), but the second was and developed. It seems to me like it needs another 4 days or so. I did not puncture the membrane and put some bacitracin on it and this morning it is still moving. I have it on a damp towel in the incubator. Should I try to cap it or continue as I am?

Also, I am very confused. At first I understood that during the 1st 14 days, temp at 98.5, humidity at 60. Then the last days in lockdown, same temp but humidity raised to 90. Reading through the threads it appears that I am going too high on the humidity so I backed it down. I am incubating button quail. I lost almost my entire lot of courtnix last week, only 10 out of 45 hatched. After waiting about 4 days I started opening the eggs one at a time. Each and every one seemed fully developed but unhatched. Membrane seemed ok, no shrink wrap. I "Think" that sad disaster was due to bacteria. The water in the bottom of the incubator was yellow and foul smelling when I cleaned it out.

So, my questions are - should I try to cap the open viable egg or leave it alone. And, some help on the proper humidity before and after lockdown. Thanks so much.

 

[loveourbirds]

I am dealing with the same thing. Sort of a newbie, using a home made incubator with a circulating fan and 25 watt bulb. A couple questions also. First, I locked down my incubator on day 14, today is day 20. I also got concerned, and tried the float test on a few and they floated and one bobbed, but no signs of pips. So yesterday morning I decided to open one and check, and the first had not been fertile (I did not float test that one), but the second was and developed. It seems to me like it needs another 4 days or so. I did not puncture the membrane and put some bacitracin on it and this morning it is still moving. I have it on a damp towel in the incubator. Should I try to cap it or continue as I am?

Also, I am very confused. At first I understood that during the 1st 14 days, temp at 98.5, humidity at 60. Then the last days in lockdown, same temp but humidity raised to 90. Reading through the threads it appears that I am going too high on the humidity so I backed it down. I am incubating button quail. I lost almost my entire lot of courtnix last week, only 10 out of 45 hatched. After waiting about 4 days I started opening the eggs one at a time. Each and every one seemed fully developed but unhatched. Membrane seemed ok, no shrink wrap. I "Think" that sad disaster was due to bacteria. The water in the bottom of the incubator was yellow and foul smelling when I cleaned it out.

So, my questions are - should I try to cap the open viable egg or leave it alone. And, some help on the proper humidity before and after lockdown. Thanks so much.

i haven't messed with button quail, but i hatch courtnix right in with my chicken eggs. i use them for timers so i dont have to write dates down LOL. when the quail start to hatch its time to move the chicken eggs down.

i run my temp at 99.5-100 f and humidity at 40% average, raising to 60% during hatch. on my own eggs i almost always get over 90% hatches (300 at a time so 100% is nearly impossible). i do let my humidity pan dry out before adding more water- i personally dont have good luck with automatic humidity systems. your conditions will be different, but those guidelines should get you started - then you can adjust as needed.

 

[missyloupoppet]

Thanks so much!

 

[Scifisarah]

Re: shavings: pine is a very close second to cedar in toxicity. You know pine sol, the cleaner? Yeah, it kills germs etc because it's actually made from pine oil. I've kept small animals (rats, mice) as pets for many years prior to getting chickens and found out the hard way that my shavings were the cause of many early deaths resulting from respiratory failure. As chicks are so little and so close to the ground/shavings, don't chance it. In a big coop, where the ventilation is good and the birds are grown and spending the bulk of their time in fresh air, go for it! But as little ones kept in a small apartment of sorts (I love how you built them toy furniture!) get aspen/softwood or the softer (recycled paper) alternatives

I am sure you are correct about the oils being toxic. My mother in law purchased some pine shavings from TSC and I couldn't believe the smell of them when I opened up the plastic packaging. I think the pine shavings I get from Family Farm & Home must be from wood that has dried out more and released more of the oils before being made into shavings. I will look into a different type of bedding for the brooder next spring when I hatch, thanks for bringing this to my attention. I do want to say that I tried to use play sand in the brooder with bad results. Within a few days of rolling around in it, our chicks started sounding wheezy. It also formed poopy cement-like crusts around their feet, yuck. We switched back to pine shavings and they were better sounding after 4-5 days.

 

[lifthiminsong]

kitkat - I AM SO INCREDIBLY PROUD OF YOU!!!

FABULOUS JOB!!!!

GOD BLESS!!!!

 

[kitkat2498]

Alright,so I made a member page. Still not too sure how it works, but I'll get the hang of it. If you'd like to check it out: https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/the-chick-who-lived