HOur old chick in incubator is still attached to membrane (umbilical?) of egg. Will it dry and fall? Should I cut it?

[Cooncerned]

Hour old chick has umbilical(?) still stuck to butt. Will it dry and detach? should I cut it? It is in incubator..no momma.

 

[coach723]

Sometimes it takes a while, but generally it will take care of itself. I would leave it alone, give it time. It's too easy to do more damage at this point by intervening. Leave it in the incubator until it's good a dry and fluffing up.
You have more eggs in the incubator?

 

[Cooncerned]

Sometimes it takes a while, but generally it will take care of itself. I would leave it alone, give it time. It's too easy to do more damage at this point by intervening. Leave it in the incubator until it's good a dry and fluffing up.
You have more eggs in the incubator?

 

[Cooncerned]

Thanks so much. Only one other is beginning to peck out. Those two are eggs from a Neighbor. There are other eggs in there maybe not viable. I lost my rooster and so was trying to hatch out some he fertilized. EIther he did not, or they were too old already. I had to buy an incubator as my only normally broody hen quit going broody. So I may end up with only two (argh).. I will set 12 more from neighbor and then pray these two and any others I hatch will play well together.

 

[Cooncerned]

POor baby keeps dragging that shell all over the place like a ball and chain!

 

[coach723]

If the cord is completely dry, and I mean completely, then you can cut it off. Use some small scissors cleaned with alcohol (or better yet sterile), don't cut it off too close to the chick, leave a small amount, it will dry up and come off on it's own. Be very careful to not pull on it at all when cutting. If it's not completely dry then you risk bacteria traveling up the umbilicus to the chick. You can dab a tiny bit of plain triple antibiotic ointment on the cut end if needed. I have done this on rare occasions, most of the time they come off on their own. Be careful how often you open the incubator with a pipped chick in there, you risk shrink wrapping it if the humidity goes down too much.
At least with two, they will not be alone. A single chick can be very unhappy and stressed. I usually leave the first in the incubator until there is at least one more ready to come out too, so they aren't alone in the brooder. The one coming out can hear the other, and vice versa.

 

[Cooncerned]

Thanks, Coach723. It is still hanging, but just by a thread now. I thought it would dry and break sooner with the fan in there, but then, humidity would delay the drying out of it, I suppose. The baby has drug it's shell all over the place. It made its way to its sibling (still inside its shell) and laid over it to rest....Awww. However, every time I get close to the incubator, she (I hope) flails around so I covered up all but the vent hole so she might sleep. I'm rigging up a brooder inside a plastic drum liner from a dishwasher with a plexiglass lid. Making a "momma" out of a black flower pot, crocheted hat, wool yarn and duck feathers they can get into. Making a diy heater from a silver serving tray propped onto grates from an old stove and slanting it so they can get closer or farther from the ceiling of it. Slants from 2" up to 3" for now. Secured a mirror in one end of the drum, so maybe they will think there is more than just the two of them. LOL
I should know better, but I am counting the second one before it is hatched..hahahaha