Reason to NOT pick chicks out of the shell.

SierraView

Crowing
14 Years
May 20, 2010
631
40
276
Valley Springs, California
My Coop
My Coop
I see people doing this more and more, some chicks survive and some don't. I wanted to show people what you can find if you help a chick hatch.

This chick was pipped for 2 days and all the others had hatched so I was moving chicks to the brooder and thought I would help this chick if it was alive. I could see it moving so picked the shell off the area it pipped. I could see his beak was crossed and this was why he wasn't able to hatch. I put him back in the incubator and the little bugger hatched. I had to cull him and it wasn't fun. I will never ever help again.

This chick was unable to eat and blind.
 
So sad. I'm sorry you had to go through that. Hopefully your post will help others see why they should take a more "hands off" approach...
hugs.gif
 
This is the reason I won't help either. I can understand your reasoning behind helping initially--I might have done the same thing if the rest had already hatched. It's a good reminder for everyone. Thanks for sharing.
 
I think everyone who doesn't help has their own reason behind it. This post is a visual for those debating the decision. Not all chicks who need assistance will have such an extreme deformity and some may be perfectly fine, but helping hatch does not allow natural selection run its coarse. I personally do not assist hatch nor do I spend days with a dropper trying to perk up a chick who is unable to eat or drink on its own. It's a personal decision we all have to make.
 
AAAWWWWW, I haven't yet had the opportunity to hatch any eggs, but when I do....well, I will remember this! Thank you for posting!
I couldn't have culled it myself, would have had to have DH do it
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I just had to intervene, the hen pecked at the egg and broke it open and there was some blood. The chick is active now, I just put it under mother hen several minutes back. I hope it makes it. We cut the cord, it was white, not red, so I think it should be okay. It's peeping and it moves/crawls.
I'm going to be worrying all night but Ill get up early in the morn to check up on him/her.
 

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