Help: Very difficult hatch, now distressed chick

[abrooks99]

I have a chick that took over 24 hours from pip to hatch. I could tell this was a much harder hatch than I’ve had previously, just seemed harder/longer. At 4 am I went in to check on it and found it lying on its side with 1/3 of the membrane and shell still stuck like glue. I waited a bit but noticed the chick couldn’t stand up, move, or do much with the weight of the membrane and shell. Chick was simply laying there, lethargic, eyes closed. I am generally very wary of intervention and have never had to assist any of my chicks before. After a while, and double checking my research, I decided to step in. I turned on an extra heat lamp in the room, just barely cracked the incubator, and used a very warm, wet cloth to dampen and softly remove the large pieces of membrane and shell that were holding the chick down. No bleeding, yolk clearly absorbed. I left some membrane alone because I wasn’t trying to push it. Put baby right back in the incubator and Boom! Chick is now up, on its feet, being a typical freshly hatched baby EXCEPT it is peeping, and I mean a lot! So much so that it isn’t doing the typical chirp-toddle-nap behavior that I’m used to with a freshly hatched chick, but rather standing about and “yelling”. Is something wrong? Should I be removing the rest of this stuck membrane? Is there something else it needs? Maybe I’m over thinking this. Pic so you can see what I left. (And yes, I checked that none of the other eggs pipped as best I could before opening incubator.)

 

[kattabelly]

How is the chick doing now?

Personally I'd take it out and give it a proper clean up (water on the hotter side of warm but not scalding, in a warm and draught-free room) but I always take chicks out as soon as they've hatched now anyway. What's the humidity in the room you have the incubator in? Quickly opening the inc is less of an issue if the air outside it isn't much drier.

Get it at least mostly dry immediately after if you do decide to do this.

 

[abrooks99]

How is the chick doing now?

Personally I'd take it out and give it a proper clean up (water on the hotter side of warm but not scalding, in a warm and draught-free room) but I always take chicks out as soon as they've hatched now anyway. What's the humidity in the room you have the incubator in? Quickly opening the inc is less of an issue if the air outside it isn't much drier.

Get it at least mostly dry immediately after if you do decide to do this.

I did exactly what you said and got chick all cleaned up. I was genuinely scared I’d come home to a dead chick but she’s (assuming) actually doing fine! Still on the weaker side but moved over to the brooder and active, resting, not yelling anymore. Thank you!

 

[Airyaman]

Yeah, I had one chick I needed to assist in hatching, and afterwards, for a couple of hours, I thought it had wry neck or something similar. Come to find out, it was simply a case of membrane being stuck on its back in such a manner that it literally could not straighten its neck. So good move in getting that membrane off.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...leg-possibly-not-eating.1662303/post-28576068

She is a very healthy nine weeks old now.