Please help tell me what to do!

[bradronnie11]

Hi thank you so much for your reply, it has put my mind at rest about a few things!
It has been 24 hours and still the same thing, beak through the hole with a little hole that I can see wet ish feathers. The white outer membrane is still very white and paper like. However when I lifted the lid open to add a little more water to bator I could see what I think is the inner membrane around the chick and it looks crinkly. Is that ok or is that because it's stuck to him? Thanks

 

[bradronnie11]

Well I tried to move a little of the shell when the air sac was, where chick should have pipped and could see the chicks little body with a crinkly membrane around it so I'm guessing he is a little stuck in there. However I still see quite a few tiny red blood lines so I having touched that membrane I've dampened it and wrapped him in wet kitchen towel apart from the hole where the beak is. I will add pics. I'm guessing he's not ready yet, even if he is stuck and while he's still breathing and chirping everytime I wet his towel again I'm going to leave him be. Can I harm him by leaving him? "Hatch" day is not actually till today so he pecked through a little earlier than I'm guessing he should have. I had a little look at my other eggs (no pips) no noise no movement and some look like they have internally pipped but still nothing yet so fingers crossed!

 

[AmyLynn2374]

Well I tried to move a little of the shell when the air sac was, where chick should have pipped and could see the chicks little body with a crinkly membrane around it so I'm guessing he is a little stuck in there. However I still see quite a few tiny red blood lines so I having touched that membrane I've dampened it and wrapped him in wet kitchen towel apart from the hole where the beak is. I will add pics. I'm guessing he's not ready yet, even if he is stuck and while he's still breathing and chirping everytime I wet his towel again I'm going to leave him be. Can I harm him by leaving him? "Hatch" day is not actually till today so he pecked through a little earlier than I'm guessing he should have. I had a little look at my other eggs (no pips) no noise no movement and some look like they have internally pipped but still nothing yet so fingers crossed!

Good deductions. Yes, the inner membranes are naturally crinkly and the envelope the chick-but they are not- or should not be pulled tight against the chick. It's very decieving, because when you look in at a chick the membrane seems to be wrapped around them and shrink wrapped looking, however, when the shrinkwrapping does occure it pulls tight agianst the chick giving them no way to move. If the chicks is moving and "fluttering" inside, that is a sign they are ok. The membrane moves with them and when they are ready they will be able to rip through it. A dry membrane also looks thicker and is less transparent than a healthy membrane. It sounds like you have it under control. When he's ready you won't be seeing the red vessels/veins.

 

[bradronnie11]

Thank you. I would say the membrane round him now is a little tougher and dryer but he's still ok and keeps moving his head about as if he's trying to move out, but still a few red veins. I haven't been in again since as another egg has now pipped (yayyy!) so leaving them alone at the minute

 

[bradronnie11]

Need a little more help

I've slowly removed more of my little chicks shell as the inner membrane is drying out quickly (75% humidity for hatch) not sure why. There's only a tiny part attached at the minute.
Firstly on the pointy side of the egg there was like a yellow gunk that was really sticky? What is that?
Also the chick is chirping and kicking away once I freed the legs, he/she is trying to kick the rest of the shell off now, however I've had to stop him as where it's "belly button/navel" would be, it's still quite pronounced. Like it hasn't sealed itself, there's a tiny tiny yellow that would say was the yolk but looks more like the remains of where it had been, rather than not fully absorbed. The little belly button is attached to two tiny little blood veins. Which is why I stopped him kicking away that part of the shell. I've wrapped him in wet kitchen towel around its legs and the last part of the shell and popped him back into incubator. It has now been 38 hours since he first pipped but not made any other zip in the shell but constantly wriggled. I haven't helped him too early have I surely? Is there anything I can do to make sure his belly is ok and he doesn't rip himself away from the egg in case he bleeds?

 

[AmyLynn2374]

Need a little more help

I've slowly removed more of my little chicks shell as the inner membrane is drying out quickly (75% humidity for hatch) not sure why. There's only a tiny part attached at the minute.
Firstly on the pointy side of the egg there was like a yellow gunk that was really sticky? What is that?
Also the chick is chirping and kicking away once I freed the legs, he/she is trying to kick the rest of the shell off now, however I've had to stop him as where it's "belly button/navel" would be, it's still quite pronounced. Like it hasn't sealed itself, there's a tiny tiny yellow that would say was the yolk but looks more like the remains of where it had been, rather than not fully absorbed. The little belly button is attached to two tiny little blood veins. Which is why I stopped him kicking away that part of the shell. I've wrapped him in wet kitchen towel around its legs and the last part of the shell and popped him back into incubator. It has now been 38 hours since he first pipped but not made any other zip in the shell but constantly wriggled. I haven't helped him too early have I surely? Is there anything I can do to make sure his belly is ok and he doesn't rip himself away from the egg in case he bleeds?

If the little strings that are still attatched are real thin, I would go ahead and clip it and hold a wet q-tip or cotton ball on the navel to make sure there is no bleeding. There might be a small amount but that is generally controlled easy with a little pressure from a wet q-tip. Once you know you are in the safe with no significant blood you can put some antibiotic ointment (the kind with NO pain reliever in it) on the "navel" and either put him back in the bator for a while or in the brooder.

When a large section of membrane is exposed it can dry out no matter how good your humidity is at. Anytime I assist I always put the egg back in with a wet paper towel around it, (not covering the pip), and I still at times have to "unglue" some membrane from the chick.

As for the sticky stuff, it is possible that the yolk ruptured a bit at the end of absorption and that is what you are seeing.

 

[bradronnie11]

Just to up date SHE is fine when went to her this morning. Woke up to her and her two sisters and a brother (sex linked Plymouth rocks) she was still walking round with the blood vein attached to a little shell but it had dried so I snipped it off and she's fine yayyyy

 

[AmyLynn2374]

Just to up date SHE is fine when went to her this morning. Woke up to her and her two sisters and a brother (sex linked Plymouth rocks) she was still walking round with the blood vein attached to a little shell but it had dried so I snipped it off and she's fine yayyyy

Congrats!

 

[bradronnie11]

I'm stuck with this last chick.

he pipped mid afternoon on Saturday so I left him alone all yesterday along with another egg that had pipped. They wasn't drying up or anything and breathing and chirping. This morning I checked on them and one had worked its way out but the other was still in the egg. Eye open and breathing but no longer making any noise and drying up a little round the edge. So I thought I may try to help him out like I had one of the other hatchlings that was stuck. This chick seems not weaker than before it had been chirping and wiggling as much as it could before. It's just sat there now looking at me even while I'm adding a little water to soften the membrane. There's also a smell coming from him? Quite off putting.
So I have peeled a little shell and some dry membrane and as I did I can see the internal membrane covered with veins still. And I caught a little one so I covered him straight back up with wet towel and put him back in incubator. All the others are fine that tried to hatch but I'm not sure what to do with this one. I feel he is dying and I'm not sure wether me helping him out will prolong that or save him. What should I do? Really need some help soon so if I can save him I do it now.
I don't want to lose him

 

[Ravynscroft]

I'm stuck with this last chick.

he pipped mid afternoon on Saturday so I left him alone all yesterday along with another egg that had pipped. They wasn't drying up or anything and breathing and chirping. This morning I checked on them and one had worked its way out but the other was still in the egg. Eye open and breathing but no longer making any noise and drying up a little round the edge. So I thought I may try to help him out like I had one of the other hatchlings that was stuck. This chick seems not weaker than before it had been chirping and wiggling as much as it could before. It's just sat there now looking at me even while I'm adding a little water to soften the membrane. There's also a smell coming from him? Quite off putting.
So I have peeled a little shell and some dry membrane and as I did I can see the internal membrane covered with veins still. And I caught a little one so I covered him straight back up with wet towel and put him back in incubator. All the others are fine that tried to hatch but I'm not sure what to do with this one. I feel he is dying and I'm not sure wether me helping him out will prolong that or save him. What should I do? Really need some help soon so if I can save him I do it now.
I don't want to lose him

Are you sure the smell is coming from him or could it be the incubator? Bators can really get ripe at the end of a hatching, especially when it goes for a few days... if it is him, he may have omphalitis (sp?) an infection of the yolk sac/his belly... if so, he may not make it cuz of that...
But if it were me, then I'd go ahead an help him out a bit... use caution and go slow... if there aren't veins then pick off bits of the shell like you are finishing his zip for him, check the membrane and if veins are gone you can pull some of that away as well...

Edited to add: sorry just saw it says there are veins... not much you can do but wait then... if you nick those he'll prolly bleed out anyways... if his beak is clear for breathing just leave him til veins recede... if he doesn't make it, then it sounds like he wasn't meant to...