help!

[maineteacher]

I have been hatching chicks for four or five years in my second grade classroom...i have one chich that after 24 hours i decided to help hatch...there was some yoke not absorbed and he is very dried...i had to help him unstick his wing and leg and he is still sticky/dried...should i try a warm cloth?

 

[kellysmall87]

Has he hatched out yet? If not then warm him up in a warm cloth and place back in incubator but you may have to help more if he is stuck. There is no such thing as 'too high humidity' once hatching has started. Bulk the humidity up.

If he has hatched and had not absorbed his yolk then syringe feed him sugared water to feed him or there's a chance he wont make it.
He should dry out and fluff up in the incubator. If not then a warm wash and dry is always an option.

 

[JodyJo]

sorry, I posted on wrong post....

 

[Chick1043]

Has he hatched out yet? If not then warm him up in a warm cloth and place back in incubator but you may have to help more if he is stuck. There is no such thing as 'too high humidity' once hatching has started. Bulk the humidity up.

If he has hatched and had not absorbed his yolk then syringe feed him sugared water to feed him or there's a chance he wont make it.
He should dry out and fluff up in the incubator. If not then a warm wash and dry is always an option.

x2
By the way! What do you do with the chicks after they're done hatching?

 

[maineteacher]

Yes, he has hatched out...i helped him last night but this morning I noticed he had dried hard yoke over his feathers. I gave him a warm wash while under the heat lamp. He is walking around but still not fluffy because of the yoke. I will try feeding him with sugar water as you suggest...what proportion water to sugar?

I have another chick that seems to have one of his feet that doesn't work well...will it just adjust?

 

[kellysmall87]

With regards to the sugared water - I just guessed! More sugar the better I think! I used a teacup of luke warm water and put about three to four sugars in there and gave it a good mix. He'll need feeding regularly as usually the Yolk feeds it during the first couple of days. You'll have to do the job for him. Just open his beak a little with the end of syringe and keep the water at the front of his beak - let him swallow it, don't shove it down his throat as it's easy to drown little chicks. He'll probably only have about three or four drops at a time, once an hour or so. I use the syringe that comes with Childrens nurofen medicine in UK as it has no needle just a hole in the end where I insert the beak and let them feed from that. I don't know if you have it in chemists where you are.

The feet should correct - I had one I helped out and his feet were curled over but I just let him walk on flat surfaces and made him practice standing on my finger so he could use those toes. If the feet dont correct you can make a kind of "shoe" which I have read about on this forum.

 

[maineteacher]

Thank you for your help!

So like I said i bathed the yoke covered one with warm water and a cotton ball to help unstick one wing, his leg and his eyes...how important is it to completely clean him up? He still looks wet but it is just the dried yoke. Should I continue to wipe him down periodically?

 

[kellysmall87]

I haven't experienced this before, but I would say yes continue to get the yolk off him. I imagine that him fluffing up is crucial to him keeping warm.

 

[maineteacher]

Thank you for your help. I haven't experienced this before either but wanted to help the little chick as much as I could. I bathed it again this morning and when he dried he looked somewhat fluffier. Still some bathing to do but didn't want to overwhelm him. He took the sugar water well and eagerly for the past two days. I am thinking that he can probably eat the chick starter food at this point. Again thanks for the support!

 

[kellysmall87]

Well done you for saving his life! Hope he continues to be strong!