Newborn chick - can I do anything to help?

[Baileyanne95]

This chick hatched a few hours ago. This is my first time hatching eggs. He has egg shell stick to him and can’t lift his head. Looks like yolk still attached to belly button. Is there anything I can do to help him?

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[Baileyanne95]

Here is the chick in question. It’s sibling who watched the same time is looking good.

 

[FeatherTay]

Baby is just tired! The thing that looks like a yolk is just embryo waste- aka nothing to worry about! When he fluffs out and gets stronger then the shells should fall off!

 

[nuthatched]

I'd leave him in the incubator for now, let him rest and absorb the yolk, I think that's just shell slime, it will fall off.

 

[Littledarlingfarm]

Agreeing with the person above. The best thing would be leave him in the incubator for now to fluff out so he doesn’t get shocked by still being wet! They shouldn’t come out wet at all as it doesn’t take long, or it will get too cold and die. I’d just leave the yolk, I’m sure it’ll come off naturally as soon as it’s wiggling around, I just hatched some two days ago and watched one drag theirs a bit before it came off. Once it’s out and able to drink I’d supplement some electrolytes to give it a bit of a boost! Good luck!

 

[Baileyanne95]

Here is the chick in question. It’s sibling who watched the same time is looking good.

This chick hatched a few hours ago. This is my first time hatching eggs. He has egg shell stick to him and can’t lift his head. Looks like yolk still attached to belly button. Is there anything I can do to help him?

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So almost 24 hours in, the chick is still weak. Not wet anymore but his feathers are stiff and stick to his sides. He cheeps but can’t hold his head up that well.

 

[FeatherTay]

So almost 24 hours in, the chick is still weak. Not wet anymore but his feathers are stiff and stick to his sides. He cheeps but can’t hold his head up that well.

Use some warm water and q-tips to help get his wings unstuck. You said he hatched a few hours ago last night at 9:20 so he is probably not 24 hours yet. I would give him more time.

 

[FloorCandy]

I’ve found that chicks who are particularly goopy and then dry crunchy like that tend to all be weak starters. My suspicion is that they broke the yolk sac before it was all the way absorbed, inside the egg, and the egg goop coated them which makes hatching more work, and they’re doing it with less gas in the tank so to speak. I’ve had good results with putting them in my extra bator with a small food and water dish, and I give a drop of nutridrench every few hours, sometimes with sometimes without water mixed in.