I had a batch of eggs that I had put in lockdown Wed last week, that were due to hatch Saturday. 13 hatched Thursday. There were a lot of dry looking hatches, so I "helped". Meaning, after a length of hours when it seemed they were getting nowhere, and the cheeping was getting weaker, I zip a bit and put a damp paper towel around the zip area. I have done this with two other chicks on different hatches, and they are still alive now. This time it didn't go so well. One hatched with the yolk sac still attached-- it died pretty quickly. Another couple died within 24 hours (I didn't help ALL of them, they just came out weak chicks) Several had stuck closed eyes--which have since opened. One had stuck eyes, which cleaning didn't help, and it was lame--not spraddle leg, these were bent and weak--I tried the sraddle leg splinting, hoping it would work, gave chick vitamins to, but it wasn't eating or drinking, so I put it to sleep using the vinegar/baking soda thing written in other posts here.
One the bright side, I do have 7 healthy chicks. But there is one I am really wondering about, not sure what to do. It's head is really odd shaped-- almost knobby. (this is a barnyard mix--have no idea whta each chick might be) It's eyes bulge out quite a bit, I will post pictures, but the pictures don't show how severe the bulging is. This little guy is somewhat active-- not as active as the otherwise healthy ones. He eats, drinks, poops. He's had vitamins. He does sleep more than the others, and his walk is a bit more stumbly than the others. I think he can't see. He shakes sometimes, but I don't know if it's cuz he's cold because he's out of the brooder or something else.
One the bright side, I do have 7 healthy chicks. But there is one I am really wondering about, not sure what to do. It's head is really odd shaped-- almost knobby. (this is a barnyard mix--have no idea whta each chick might be) It's eyes bulge out quite a bit, I will post pictures, but the pictures don't show how severe the bulging is. This little guy is somewhat active-- not as active as the otherwise healthy ones. He eats, drinks, poops. He's had vitamins. He does sleep more than the others, and his walk is a bit more stumbly than the others. I think he can't see. He shakes sometimes, but I don't know if it's cuz he's cold because he's out of the brooder or something else.
