Ok I did a No-No

[BrownSheep]

Alright I know every body's opinion of helping eggs hatch, but this guy was really late and alive I could hear and feel him. He was getting really weak so I gave it a whirl and helped him out. Neither him nor I had anything to lose so I thought it was justified. He's looking better than he did, but he just lays on his back. Anybody delt with this before?

 

[Denninmi]

Yes, I've helped. Sometimes it works, and sometimes it doesn't. But, if it can't hatch on its own, it definitely won't live. There is the possibility something is wrong beyond hatching issues and it won't make it, but otoh, it could be a thriving bird in a week or 2.

Be sure to give it a few drops of an electrolyte solution with a drop or two of avian or baby vitamins if you have it. That might help it to gains some strength.

 

[cmom]

A drop of Poly-Vi-Sol WITHOUT Iron may help. Usually they don't live unless they are mostly hatched out when you help them.

 

[Griffin Nest]

i did it twice. once with a chick and once with a ducking. with the chick, she lived a full life, but the duckling died when it was 4 days old. if the chick doesn't die by itself, the others will kill it, so you should separate it

 

[BrownSheep]

Right now he's hanging out in the incubator by himself. I think we have some elctrolytes we gave our bum lambs so I'll try that tonight.

 

[cmom]

I helped a couple of chicks out from my last hatch. One died and one survived. The survivor is a runt but seems to be doing ok. It eats, drinks and poops. It is a month old and is growing but still smaller than the other chicks.

 

[BrownSheep]

There is hope!

I think this guy could go either way. I'm kind of concered because one leg is splayed (fixable) and he won't uncurl his toes.

 

[valley ranch]

We helped on out this last batch. He flopped around like a fish and lay there like roadkill. He woke up after a while and dried out, wifey washed him off a bit. His balance was poor. That was 7 days ago, today I can't tell which one was him or her.

 

[they'reHISchickens]

I think I read somewhere that they have to push themselves out to fix their hips right. I may be wrong on this, but I try to help only enough to make them go the final bit themselves.
The last one I helped was splaylegged on one side. We taped for a day or so, then left it isolated because all the others were outside under mama and it would NOT have survived.
Then DearGrandDaughter came to visit for the weekend and brought 5 chicks she is raising for a friend. They were the same size/age and under a week old so we put the loner in with them and it was the best thing we could have done. It began trying harder to walk and move instead of just hanging out.
It went home with her and 2 weeks later she says it's doing great. Her friend will now have a surprise FBCM addition. Hope it's a hen!

 

[ChickyD]

I hope your little one makes it

I have one with a splayed leg too. Seems to be doing pretty good getting around. I also have one with clubbed foot? I think? That one isn't doing so good. I didn't help either of these ones out of their egg. But one is thriving and one isn't.