My Babies Are Hatching!!!!!!!!!!

[Sapphire Sebright]

Now I'm curious to see a photo of Articuno

Here you go:


Sometimes she looks more heavily makeup-ed than others, but she still looks crazy. Maybe I'll get another picture of her later -- these ones are from last year, and her face is currently a bit more starkly colored.
Looks kinda normal, as far as guineas go, but I still think of a woman who put on her makeup with a very heavy hand....

 

[Friendly_Lurker]

One of the chicks is sitting down, tipping its head up and gasping. What’s wrong?

 

[Friendly_Lurker]

 

[Sapphire Sebright]

One of the chicks is sitting down, tipping its head up and gasping. What’s wrong?

Are his eyes closed or open? When he gasps, is there anything in the beak, like fluid? And is he sitting back on his knees, chirping at all, eating or drinking? How weak is he?
Last year, I had a Sebright chick who acted like that. If he was flipped onto his back, he couldn't right himself and just kicked frantically... he survived for about two days. We didn't have a brooder lamp, so we improvised with a contraption involving an insulated cooler, a heating pad, several towels, and a tissue box. Anyway, we realized that my small desk lamp had an incandescent light bulb in it and tried to keep him warm with that... he perked up a little, but unfortunately didn't make it.
I don't know what was wrong with him, and I don't know what's wrong with your chick, but the advice that I have is:
Check him for any injuries or other issues, like pasty butt, and treat those.
Keep him nice and warm (obviously). I'd separate him from the others so that he won't get stepped on. What we did with Turtle, the Sebright chick, was we put him in a small container (like a sprinkles or cream cheese one) and put that on top of the lampshade. If you do this, make sure that the lamp has an incandescent bulb in it so that it gives off heat. If you don't have an incandescent bulb, then put him in the container under the brooder lamp, maybe raised a little but (like putting the container on top of a brick or a larger upside-down container, to get him closer to the heat). You might want to line the container with a paper towel, as well. However, if he doesn't seem cold, then just put him in the container and scoot it a bit towards the lamp, so that he isn't too cold without the others, and go ahead with the advice below.
If he isn't eating crumble, then try to give him a little molasses or raw egg yolk by smearing a drop on the side of his beak with a toothpick or some such thing.
If he isn't drinking, then see if you can get an eyedropper into his beak to put a bit of water in, and see if he swallows. Try to keep his beak clean, and if there's a big drop fluid inside his beak that might be blocking his airflow and he isn't swallowing, then try dabbing it with the very corner of a tissue to absorb it.
Monitor the little guy closely, making sure that he isn't too hot or cold and moving him towards or away from the lamp accordingly.
Sorry that I don't have any more specific advice. I'm not an expert on chick care, really, and am just relaying what we did with Turtle. Not sure what's wrong with the little guy, and I hope that he pulls through.
Please keep us updated, and good luck to you.

 

[Friendly_Lurker]

Are his eyes closed or open? When he gasps, is there anything in the beak, like fluid? And is he sitting back on his knees, chirping at all, eating or drinking? How weak is he?
Last year, I had a Sebright chick who acted like that. If he was flipped onto his back, he couldn't right himself and just kicked frantically... he survived for about two days. We didn't have a brooder lamp, so we improvised with a contraption involving an insulated cooler, a heating pad, several towels, and a tissue box. Anyway, we realized that my small desk lamp had an incandescent light bulb in it and tried to keep him warm with that... he perked up a little, but unfortunately didn't make it.
I don't know what was wrong with him, and I don't know what's wrong with your chick, but the advice that I have is:
Check him for any injuries or other issues, like pasty butt, and treat those.
Keep him nice and warm (obviously). I'd separate him from the others so that he won't get stepped on. What we did with Turtle, the Sebright chick, was we put him in a small container (like a sprinkles or cream cheese one) and put that on top of the lampshade. If you do this, make sure that the lamp has an incandescent bulb in it so that it gives off heat. If you don't have an incandescent bulb, then put him in the container under the brooder lamp, maybe raised a little but (like putting the container on top of a brick or a larger upside-down container, to get him closer to the heat). You might want to line the container with a paper towel, as well. However, if he doesn't seem cold, then just put him in the container and scoot it a bit towards the lamp, so that he isn't too cold without the others, and go ahead with the advice below.
If he isn't eating crumble, then try to give him a little molasses or raw egg yolk by smearing a drop on the side of his beak with a toothpick or some such thing.
If he isn't drinking, then see if you can get an eyedropper into his beak to put a bit of water in, and see if he swallows. Try to keep his beak clean, and if there's a big drop fluid inside his beak that might be blocking his airflow and he isn't swallowing, then try dabbing it with the very corner of a tissue to absorb it.
Monitor the little guy closely, making sure that he isn't too hot or cold and moving him towards or away from the lamp accordingly.
Sorry that I don't have any more specific advice. I'm not an expert on chick care, really, and am just relaying what we did with Turtle. Not sure what's wrong with the little guy, and I hope that he pulls through.
Please keep us updated, and good luck to you.

Last time a bird did that, it was a duck and she didn't make it a week.

 

[Friendly_Lurker]

The other chicks aren’t bothering her, she’s stopped gasping so much and is drinking, but she’s just standing there rocking back and forth with her eyes closed.

 

[Friendly_Lurker]

I have a different chicken that started limping heavily. There haven’t been any predators around, so I don’t know how my Nugget could have gotten hurt. I’m going to catch her later when I can get some herding help and I’m probably going to need someone to walk me through wrapping her up.

 

[Sapphire Sebright]

Hm... could you try putting a little molasses in the water, see if the sugar and such will give her a bit of energy?

 

[Friendly_Lurker]

Hm... could you try putting a little molasses in the water, see if the sugar and such will give her a bit of energy?

The chicks already have sugar water, with apple cider vinegar and liquid silver.

 

[Sapphire Sebright]

For wrapping a chicken:
1. Place the hen on on a countertop that is at about waist or hip height for the person doing the wrapping (I usually do my chicken check-ups in the bathroom, on the counter).
2. Take a bath towel that is long enough to go around her body at least one-and-a-half times, and wide enough to go past her head a few inches, and place it with a long side against her legs, covering her toes. The chicken's feet should be about in midway from either end of the towel.
3. Pick up both wide ends of the towel and wrap them around her body snugly, pinning her wings, end over end.
4. Pick up the hen and flip her carefully onto her back and place her on the countertop. Her head should be covered with the towel, as a chicken is usually calmed by having something over their eyes. Keep a hand on her keel when inspecting her legs and feet, to steady her and to keep hold of her if she struggles.

A while ago, Najika broke her ankle somehow and was limping pretty bad for a few days. It healed pretty much perfectly, with only a noticeable lump, without being set, though. She's just as active and bossy now as she was before. I don't know how she broke it... she broke her middle toe on the other foot sometime before, and that healed fine, too. She's a tough one.
Anyway, if your hen has something that you think needs setting, by all means, do so -- I won't be able to give any sort of advice, unfortunately, but good luck.