New to this, but baby chick won't stand

[Bellowood]

I wanted to let nature take it's course, but this baby chick is very active on it's back. It's been 4 days, and I shut the incubator off on day two...it's still chirping away. I don't want to kill - wouldn't even know how...but why is Mother Nature taking so long??

 

[cavemanrich]

Not really sure of everything that is going on, but, you state you shut off incubator on day 2.. Does chick have a brooder area to be warm in. Chick needs to be at about 95°F ambient first week. Temps are reduced by 5°F each week.
I'm hoping your chick survives
WISHING YOU BEST,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

 

[NatJ]

If you are sure the chick will (or should) die anyway, I suggest you just kill it. Cutting off the head works nicely--use kitchen shears, cable-cutters, those things people cut tree branches with, a cleaver, a hatchet and chopping block: anything that lets you do it with one snip or one chop.

Killing it quickly seems kinder to me than letting it starve, die of thirst, or die of cold.

As for why it hasn't already died: chicks can live for several days on the nutrition from the yolk sack (like when they get mailed from a hatchery), and can survive for quite a while at not-perfect temperatures, too (like when getting mailed from a hatchery, or when the power goes out in an incubator or brooder.)

 

[It was the bantam]

I wanted to let nature take it's course, but this baby chick is very active on it's back. It's been 4 days, and I shut the incubator off on day two...it's still chirping away. I don't want to kill - wouldn't even know how...but why is Mother Nature taking so long??

Just before the chick hatches it absorbs the remainder of the yolk sac.This gives it enough nutrients to allow it survive the first few days until it gets access to food and water.
I have had several chicks like the one you describe over the years and the prognosis is never good in my experience.While you may consider it cruel to end it's life the fact remains that prolonging its life would be much more cruel.You have no idea what defect the chick has or what level of pain it is in.Raising chickens is very rewarding but sometimes the trade off is that hard decisions have to be made

 

[cavemanrich]

Bellowood

Did your chick recover