Help! Zipped chicks are stuck, been over 24-48 hours been trying to keep them moist!

[foxypoproxy]

Yesterday was our hatching day. It was going great and i was very confident all the 14 eggs would hatch.
We have a few chicks hatch but then our hygrometer and thermometer broke!
And our hovabator tends to spike alot with the change in humidity so i was panicking.
2 chicks that were in the middle of zipping have been stuck for over 24 hours (maybe 48 hours can't remember) and i think its due to them getting stuck to the membrane.
We rushed around for hours trying to get a new hygrometer and thermometer and it was not easy.. We found one but i could tell it was not very accurate, one sec it was 99 degrees then 117 then 80 then 95, it just didn't seem reliable.
So i was watching my mercury thermometer and guessing humidity by looking at the moisture on the windows in the incubator.
I waited patiently for the zipped chicks to hatch but they haven't.
They are still breathing and i see their beaks and are about half way zipped. We wrapped them in a warm moist paper towel and are still in the incubator.
I don't really like intervening because i think that some chicks that can't hatch by themselves have other health problems (the last zip chick i helped out had an unabsorbed yolk sac and died so i don't want to deal with that again, it was heartbreaking).
So i don't really want to peel the shell off knowing i could just be prolonging its suffering.
Is their still hope for them? I don't know what to do :[.
7 of my 14 egg have successfully hatched and they are in the brooder eating and drinking.
The rest of my eggs, other then the zipped two, have not even pipped.
I am going to keep the incubator running but i don't have much hope right now :/.

 

[leadwolf1]

The last hatch that I had, two chicks were just like yours. I took them into a steamy bathroom, wrapped them in a warm, moist wash clothe and slowly peeled them out of their shell. I just popped their top off. Then, I checked to see if the membrane had shrink wrapped them. There was no blood since they had been pipped/zipped for a long time. I peeled the membrane sticking to them and out they popped. I then put them back in the bator to finish hatching themselves. I didn't mess with the umbilicus area. They rested and hatched perfectly fine. I still have both and they are now almost 12 weeks old!!! The first, we named Saran

 

[foxypoproxy]

I helped zip them alittle in the incubator and moistened them some more.
I put them back hoping they could hatch the rest of the way without problems

 

[foxypoproxy]

Well one stopped breathing...i think it died

.
It was a funny shaped egg very pointy and oval...i wonder if that had anything to do with it..
I know the temp and humidity messing up probably is why all the other eggs didn't hatch

 

[leadwolf1]

So sorry...when they struggle for so long to hatch, they just wear themselves out. I know alot of people say not to intervene but I've had a lot of success with the ones that I have helped. I won't allow a pipped/zipped chick to go longer than 24 hours and maybe not even that long untl I check it out to see what's going on. Yes, sometimes it is a defective chick but, sometimes it is human error or incubation error and a perfectly healthy chick can be saved.

If it were mine, I would completely help the other chick out...moving very slowly until just the portion of the egg attached to the umbilicus is left. I would do this is a very warm, steamy bathroom.

Good luck and again, sorry for your loss

 

[foxypoproxy]

Well i did what you advised with the last zipped chick, its now sitting in the incubator.
Its laying on its side and still breathing, it looks like it could go either way.
Thanks for the advice, the steamy bathroom did help getting it out.

 

[leadwolf1]

You are very welcome. I hope the little guy just needs time to rest and then it will be up and running It's tough trying to get out when you just can't....

 

[foxypoproxy]

Ya it does chirp now and then but i don't think it can get up to walk just yet, it does try though.
I'm waiting for it to recover and dry off over night, then i can give it grow gel and poly-vi-sol.

I normally don't like to interfere with hatching chicks that much, but i felt like this time it probably was my fault since the temperature/humidity gage broke.
I'm hoping it can recover.

Thanks again.

 

[foxypoproxy]

The chick is walking around and seems to be looking better.
Its umbilical chord is still drying up and its still not totally fluffy.
I was planning on leaving it in the bator over night, do you think this is a good idea?
Saturday was day 22 for this chick, it started its pip on day 21 (Friday) and i helped it hatch Saturday.
Should it be ok without food or water till morning?

 

[gryeyes]

Yes, it can stay in the 'bator overnight and no, it doesn't need to drink until then. It probably won't eat much for another day, as it's still "living off" the yolk.

Good job saving it!