NEED HELP ASAP - Chick is stuck

[Kiki]

Lowering or raising? These eggs were shipped and the air cells were wonky from the start even though they were beautifully packaged. I kept the humidity around 50% the entire time although it did drop a couple of times into the 30s while I was working. I don't think it was low for more than an hour or so each time. When I put it into lockdown, the humdity levels were between 65-70%.

I thought you were supposed to raise the humidity to keep eggs from getting shrink wrapped? I'm asking because I had a hatch at Easter where a chick died from getting shrink wrapped. I was trying to be so careful that it didn't happen again. Now I'm wondering if I really just don't understand what causes shrink wrap?

I would recommend lowering the humidity in keeping it closer to 35% throughout instead of 50.... Then I would recommend not raising the humidity until you see an external pic and then only raising it to about 60.

 

[TJAnonymous]

Be extremely careful with having him stuck in a cup not being able to get away from the heat.

If he is struggling and fighting trying to get out of the cup it would be better to just let him run around in a flat clean area by himself because the movement of fighting in a cup could bust that sack against the paper towels.

This is not an easy situation or an easy fix but hopefully with time the little fella absorbs it like he's suppose to.

I do have a small box I can put him in... It's actually the box that the cup is sitting in now. I wanted something to contain him in case he knocked the cup over. I can put paper towel on the bottom and just let him move around the box.

 

[Kellyjenny]

Wait I'm sorry I'm confused The first picture you showed with the chicks beak sticking out of the egg did the chick do that or did you poke the hole I'm just curious.

 

[TJAnonymous]

Be extremely careful with having him stuck in a cup not being able to get away from the heat.

If he is struggling and fighting trying to get out of the cup it would be better to just let him run around in a flat clean area by himself because the movement of fighting in a cup could bust that sack against the paper towels.

This is not an easy situation or an easy fix but hopefully with time the little fella absorbs it like he's suppose to.

Per your suggestion, I moved him into a small box. I tried to give him areas where the heat lamp isn't as warm so he has somewhere to get away from the heat.

Also, you may notice the dark splotch on the paper towel in the box. This is the paper towel he was sitting on inside the cup. The spot is about the size of a nickel? It looks mostly like a mix of blood and yolk.

 

[Kellyjenny]

I'm saying this for educational reasons not to give judgment. The first picture is the chicks pip that it did on its own. Yes it had a little blood on it sometimes this just happens. but it doesn't necessarily mean the chick is in distress. After a chick pips it can take about 12 hours give or take. It is because it takes a lot out of them and they are resting. I understand you were very nervous about it, and it happens to the best of us. I have seen too many people assisting chicks when they should not be and then ending up dying. Please do not take this in any offensive way I just want to put some knowledge out there. It's not your fault. We learn from things and next time everything turns out much better.

 

[TJAnonymous]

Wait I'm sorry I'm confused The first picture you showed with the chicks beak sticking out of the egg did the chick do that or did you poke the hole I'm just curious.

The chick did it. He poked through a blood vessel when he pipped. After that, there was no movement in that hole or new pips for over 12 hrs. After 12 hrs, I candled because I was checking to see if he was alive or maybe bled to death inside the egg. Candling showed movement but he was all scrunched down at the other end of the egg (opposite side from the air cell). I waited 2 more hours and candled again. The 2nd time I candled, he was still barely moving and in the same position. That's why I thought he was stuck. I opened a piece of the outer shell about the size of a nickel in the air cell so I could see if he was stuck. I determined he wasn't so I left him be after that... He zipped and exited the shell on his own.

ETA for clarity - in my OP, the top picture is the bloody pip. the 2nd picture is after I removed some shell in the air cell so I could see if he was stuck.

 

[TJAnonymous]

Forgot to add that while he was scrunched into 1 side of the egg, he was chirping like crazy the entire time

 

[Kellyjenny]

I'm saying this for educational reasons not to give judgment. The first picture is the chicks pip that it did on its own. Yes it had a little blood on it sometimes this just happens. but it doesn't necessarily mean the chick is in distress. After a chick pips it can take about 12 hours give or take. It is because it takes a lot out of them and they are resting. I understand you were very nervous about it, and it happens to the best of us. I have seen too many people assisting chicks when they should not be and then ending up dying. Please do not take this in any offensive way I just want to put some knowledge out there. It's not your fault. We learn from things and next time everything turns out much better.

 

[TJAnonymous]

No worries. I'm not taking offense. This isn't my first or 2nd batch of chicks. More like my 4th or 5th... I probably wouldn't have been so worried if I hadn't had a chick die from being shink wrapped at Easter. I debated for a while about whether to do anything at all because I KNEW that assisting should be very rare. In the end, I made the tough decision to peek inside the air cell because I was worried it was stuck. Considering the egg that hatched directly AFTER this one WAS stuck, maybe it wasn't such a paranoid concern? Anyway, after I realized that the chick was not stuck but simply wasn't ready, I left it alone and it hatched on its own.

Maybe I shouldn't have tried to check the air cell at all...even though I did candle it twice, hours apart, to be certain that there might be a problem before I tried.

I DO hear what you are saying though.... It's just hard to make the right call sometimes when you aren't sure if you should or shouldn't. Most times I TRY to lean towards "shouldn't" but in this case I felt it was necessary to check.

 

[Kellyjenny]

Believe me I know what you're talking about it's so hard to look and not know what to do but I came on the site and was very fortunate to find one little group of incredible people that stuck with me through one of my first hatches. The second one was the hardest. One egg was going the wrong way and she stayed up until 1:00 in the morning. I'm telling you these people on here are experts a so knowledgeable. Cough cough @MGG @DucksAreBest @CluckNDoodle @Chickenwingwing I'm pretty sure @DobieLover was there. And @Kiki always answers. I had to pull out some credit for these amazing people. Can you let me know how the chick is doing keep me informed okay Good luck.