Help premature incubator chicks

[Shaleen Ann Brown]

Help yesterday 2 eggs started pipping at day 21. Today after 24 hours I decided to intervene as the holes hadn't grown and i was scared they were stuck to the membrane. Removed 2 chicks but they are extremely dry and one of them has like a balloon thing on the neck(not the crop) and back. Did I remove them too early. The humidity is at 67% and temperature is 37 degree Celsius. The chicks were extremely dry and can't move much as the membrane has become hard making it difficult to move. One of them has bent legs. They are alive and drinking.

 

[wolfwalker]

You need to give them a bath. As in take a wet warm washcloth and gently wash the down to get rid of the dried fluid. You did not mention the size of the air cells at lockdown.

When a chick gets stuck, a lot of the time the fluid surrounding the chick dries gummy, which can be a sign of too high of humidity during the first 18 days as the egg will not loose the appropriate amount of moisture, leaving extra fluid. This can become as hard as concrete for the chick, meaning that when it is dried, it locks legs and wings into place, usually at an angle not conducive to being able to move properly. .

The solution is to wash the chicks and place back into the incubator to dry and fluff up again. If the legs are at an angle that does not allow movement, you can try to treat for spradle leg and hobble them. There are plenty of good threads with pictures on the forum, sometimes you can place the chick in a paper towel lined cup and let them exercise, most people chose to use a band between the legs and have very good luck.