Please Help - day 23, internally pipped - attempted assist by making small hole in air cell but blood came out

[Chick Lover 61010]

I definitely will. She’s has peeped another 2 times. Could be just my imagination but sounds a wee bit louder maybe.

I have candled the other one again and have drawn a ring around the air cell (I will never ever make the mistake again I did with the other one). it has not internally pipped but I can see what I’m pretty sure is its beak just on the other side of the air cell. No movement at all that I can feel. What would you do? Should I try to help?

 

[Chick Lover 61010]

Yes, but it’s not inside the air cell though…. I might make a hole in the aircell anyway…I am probably going to lose her at this point if I don’t do something, if I haven’t already.

 

[WoDia]

Hello there and thank you for your contact sadly my wee baby passed away after just 3 or 4 days. It was very undersized and after it tried to start eating it didn’t do well. My thinking was that perhaps it had internal issues but I guess I’ll never know. At least 2 of the eggs pipped or tried to pop at the wrong end. One of the surviving chicks has a deformed neck…I’ve been giving her vitamin e and Selenium for well over a month now with no improvement, so I don’t think it could be wry neck but I honestly don’t know. I’ve taken her to 3 different vets and none of them know what is wrong with her or could identify what has caused the deformity and how to fix it. Unfortunately there are no avian vets in my area so I’m thinking perhaps the breeder I got the eggs off isn’t a very good one, since I’ve had so much trouble with the dozen they sent me

I’m sorry about your chicks @Chick Lover 61010. I agree that it does sound like a breeder issue. If the parent birds weren’t in good condition to begin with, the egg quality would have been diminished. Since your chick is being treated for the neck issue with no improvement, position within the egg during incubation may have caused the abnormality. Ultimately, if all incubation conditions were correct, it’s likely a genetic issue. I hope she thrives. It sounds like you’re giving her a wonderful life. And, perhaps the answer is still out there. Keep reaching out to the BYC members. There may be someone to suggest a solution no one’s thought of. I hope you’ll keep trying, and I’d love to see photos! Thank you so much for replying back.

 

[WoDia]

That has never happened to me. Hopefully the bleeding stopped and didn’t start filling the air cell. I’m asking @Wyorp Rock to help you.

 

[WoDia]

Thank you so much. She’s a rare lavender Orpington egg and I desperately don’t want to lose her

I hope all goes well. In the meantime, do you know if there’s blood in the air cell itself?

 

[WoDia]

No I’m not sure - it looks clear from what I can see but quite hard to tell. There’s movement in the egg and she just pepped once just then when I picked up egg to candle

Okay, I’m tagging more people. I’m not sure how to really help you with this aside from urging you to watch the egg very closely and look for signs of zipping. It sounds like the chick may be actively attempting to zip (you said there’s movement).
@azygous
@Eggcessive
@Lacy Duckwing

 

[Chick Lover 61010]

My goodness I have just candled again and feel physically sick, have just realised that I pieced the exact end of the egg where the air cell is and didn’t realise that the chick came right up to that point on the other side of the egg - I thought I had plenty of space I can see her beak clearly, should I assist with another hole above that point to give her a start in breaking out? I am so worried the carbon dioxide levels in the incubator are too low as I have opened it so much over the last 24 hours assisting 2 other chicks - should I try and help her?

 

[Chick Lover 61010]

I don’t think I have a choice, she needs air

 

[WoDia]

If you have to assist, just do the bare minimum and place her back in the incubator to see what she does. If she’s breathing outside air, then you have time to wait and see if she can break out on her own. Her yolk may not be absorbed yet.