Intervention: Helping Your Chicks Hatch

[RooRidgeFarm]

Terrific GasMenagerie! Please update us and let us know if the bird makes it out ok. If you dont see much progress in a couple more hours, it should be ok to help zip some more of the shell off-removing more shell around the midsection helps give them wiggle room if they have worked hard for a long time to try and get out.

 

[GasMenagerie]

I've zipped some more (he hadn't made any progress) and he got a leg out. I thought I saw some redness, so I stopped and put him back in the bater. A fellow chick in the mean time hatched and proceeded to stomp all over him.

I think he's the last of the four I got from this batch of 12. (Mailed eggs + Noob = Poor results) Hope fully he (or she!!) pulls through.

 

[RooRidgeFarm]

If you see any red, you can always use a pinch of flour as a blood stop. Sounds like you are on track-take your time. As long as it has air and wiggle room you should be ok.
You can always get or create a very small box so the others can't trample it in the incubator. I got creative once and used a small empty tea bag box and trimmed it a lower height to fit in the bator.

 

[City Chicken]

Thank you for all of that. Have 14 out... Two that I had to help because they were dried out inside, but I think they will pull through, they are walking around and active.
13 remain unpipped. I did have two hatch today on day 22.... So I'm hoping some more hatch through the night or tomorrow. Tomorrow I will begin to candle, draw lines and consider beginning steps for pipping.... I just wonder why they aren't even pipping... Why does this happen? So frustrating!

 

[City Chicken]

5 stopped development early on...
The remaining were mostly all pipped through into the air sack.... But dead, never pipped the shell. One was still alive with a lot of yolk and mush... Died shortly after. I could tell that one or two may have pipped at the wrong end, one had a twisted beak, so deformities... but a solid four were perfect, maybe too large? They were good sized. It's frustrating! Just died in the shell... I've got 14 out of 22.... Not great odds.

 

[jenifern]

This is a great post. I have had so many people tell me not to intervene and to wait and if they can't get out of their shell then they'll probably die anyhow or will be sickly chicks I disagree. In my most recent hatch I had 2 that hadn't even pipped but I could hear scratching and peeping coming from the eggs. So I candled to look for the air sac and lightly cracked the eggs at the air sac and helped them both out completely, they are both healthy and strong and I am so glad I stepped in and helped them

 

[GasMenagerie]

My little guy finally came out, but he's very, very weak. I've isolated him from the others and will give him every chance. May not work out, but I will know I tried my best. Thanks again!

 

[RooRidgeFarm]

My little guy finally came out, but he's very, very weak. I've isolated him from the others and will give him every chance. May not work out, but I will know I tried my best. Thanks again!

Good job! I agree, you did great and gave it the best chance at survival for his situation.

 

[HaplessRunner]

I found the original article and several postings here to be very helpful and gave me the needed support to intervene.

My intervention story: On my second hatching experince, I was hoping to avoid intervention. Sadly, by the end of day 21 with four eggs pipped and somewhat zipped and no progress, I discovered all four dead in the shell. So after that discovery, I subsequently helped two SFH out of their shells. I also helped 3 EOs that had pipped internally and were chirping in the shell but not making any progress on Day 22. So I carefully used a drill bit to scratch a hole in the large end of the shell and proceeded to carefully remove bits of the shell and membrane to expose the chicks. There was some blood from the membrane piercing. I allowed each chick to rest for a while and then opened the shells further. Eventually, each of the chicks were removed from the shells with the yolk fully absorbed. Two navels were mostly completed but I applied some antibiotic to them anyway. After a few more hours of rest, I gave each of the EOs a bath to removed any residual membrane and dried blood.

While this was somewhat nerve wracking, I am happy to say that all 5 of these chicks are doing well running around and eating like crazy. My midwifery efforts appear to have been successful.

 

[City Chicken]

Wow that's great. I lost 4 healthy chicks last week... Simply died in the shells after internal pipping. There were actually five but one was cross beaked so I don't count him as healthy.