Shrink wrapped chick

[gvntofly05]

I have a chick that pipped almost 36 hours ago. All others that pipped have hatched so I went ahead and took the pipped egg out to get a closer look as to why it wasn't zipping. I was sure it was dead until it started chirping. As I was slowly removing part of the shell to help it zip part of the outer membrane came off with some of the shell and I could see the inner membrane has shrink wrapped the chick. That would explain why it hasn't zipped. How do I handle a shrink wrapped membrane? What do I do to help this chick?

 

[asher]

I normally take a wash cloth or paper towel, wet it with warm water and get that membrane wet enough for the chick to make its way out, but not to drown it. Might even do it and help some.

 

[ChickenKatie]

I had the same thing last year, I tried the wash cloth thing and that helped it get out of the shell, but it was completely hard from being in the shell for so long. You may find giving it a bath in warm water with a tiny bit of baby shampoo to get it cleaned off after its out of the shell usefull. They really dont like the bath, but its the only thing that I found will help them fluff up and get moving. hope this helps.

 

[gvntofly05]

Thanks I'm working on it slowly. I really hope the little bugger makes it. I'm trying to let him do as much of the work as possible.

 

[chickluver:D]

make sure u keep it WARM and dont let the other chicks bully it
good luck!

__________________________

1 ruby-eyed netherland dwarf, 8 hens, 1 cat, 1 parrot, 1 injured northern flying squrrel, and eggs in the bator!

 

[mediazeal]

I helped an ameraucana chick a few months ago. She's completely healthy and out in my coop.
I considered it a humidity problem based on my opening the incubator to get out other chicks
and I had laid the eggs on their sides instead of hatching in eggs cartons as I always had before.
the chicks rolled her egg so her pip was facing down and she couldn't get out. If I had seen the pip I would not have opened the bator.
Anyway, she kept talking and I finally opened it to find her. By then she was really stuck and I had to help her out. She had a bunch of gunk sticking her feathers together and she needed a bath and a few sticky feathers snipped carefully. Her head was glued to her chest and I needed to just snip a few little feathers to fix that.
I finally took her out as it was getting more and more stuck as I tried the washcloth/towel thing and she was getting cold and miserable.
After being stuck so long it took her a while to both dry out and find her legs.
Healthy chicks can need helping out if they are in an incubator.
If a hen kicked out and egg, I would not help. Hen has spidey sense and knows what is right.
Thats my 2 cents worth of experience.
good luck

 

[AHappychick]

for some reason I always have a chick like that. Once stuck it will not be able to do it on its own. use warm water on a very wet paper towel or your finger. gently rub the spots that are mosts stuck and the glue will slowly disolve. in some places you can peel back, probably is most stuch around its face where it pipped so make sure not to get water in its nostrils. it is slow going but will happen, takes about 15 minutes or so.

oh you will have to hatch the chick completly usually if shrink wrapped you will be able to pick the shell away in most places and peel back gently with water or wet towel.

 

[MandyH]

The shrink wrap is usually caused by humidity being low. I keep a tiny bottle of baby oil and a syringe in the hatching house for this very thing. I draw up a coulpe of CC's in the syringe and then leave it in the incubator in the top to be warm when I need it. You can usually take the syringe of baby oil and place drops where needed on the crusty membrane and come back a little later to a chick that has come out of the egg unassisted. If it has been in there a while it may have leg issues and never be right.

 

[Lensters]

I keep a spray bottle of water in the incubator and squirt them every couple of hours. It is pretty flimsy stuff when it is wet and the chick will break it and clean itself off once it is wet and slimy.

 

[mediazeal]

Hows your shrink wrapped chick? were you able to save him?