Keet’s hock stuck in NR360 incubator floor

[Bicoastal]

Keet hatched today. Its hock or knee has slid down into a hole in the grated floor of the NurtureRight360 when the hock was folded in a closed position. I freed it once. Now it is stuck again. Six other keets are doing fine on the grated floor. More eggs have pipped.

Do I open the incubator again to 1) free it again (sooo scared I’m going to injure it), 2) move it to the brooder, and/or 3) line the floor with shelf liner?

Obviously I don’t want the incubator open much if at all right now. I also don’t want a mangled keet.

Like a funnel or Chinese finger trap, the hock can only slip down and not be pulled back up.

 

[pennyJo1960]

Welcome to BYC take the grate out at this point it would be Much safer.

 

[Bicoastal]

Welcome to BYC take the grate out at this point it would be Much safer.

The egg turner is out. This is the floor of the incubator. If it was possible to remove, the eggs and keets would be sitting in the water reservoir.

 

[coach723]

Can't really take the grate out of a NR360, that leaves them in the water channels. Personally I would either cut a piece of window screen to fit (laid over the grate), that will not impact the airflow much, but would stop the legs from slipping through. If you don't have any screen you can use, then paper towels would work, at least til the chick is dry enough to remove. Just watch your humidity obviously, if you still have eggs hatching.
I've only done chicken eggs and have had no problem, but can see where guinea's could be small enough for it to be.

 

[Bicoastal]

Oh my gosh. So I quickly got its hock out and shut the lid. An hour later it is stuck again. Another egg is zipping.

I think that means I *really* need to keep the lid shut. Stuck keet is going to stay stuck for a while. When I transition these guys to the brooder, I’ll put shelf liner down. I’m going to have to work quickly!

 

[Wyorp Rock]

How is your Keet doing?

I buy the thinnest cheap liner at Walmart or Dollar Store since it's something I reuse.
I line my 360 with liner before I even set eggs, I haven't had any issues with either quail or chicken trays being able to turn over top of the thin material.

 

[nuthatched]

Take them out and put them in the brooder. As long as you don't leave the lid off for you to make yourself a sandwich, they'll be fine

 

[Bicoastal]

The keet whose hock kept getting stuck did not survive the night. He was smaller than the others, probably why he was the only one getting stuck.

I’ve cleaned and prepped the incubator for another round, with the addition of a shelf liner on the floor. The egg turner can move freely, so hopefully the eggs will too.

Here are the five survivors.

 

[coach723]

So sorry you lost that one. Hope your next hatch goes smoothly!