how do you know when a chick is shrink wrapped? i see it breathing but hasnt progressed, looks like its trying to and has for a while. i can see the membrane i think and it looks dry-ish... has anyone helped a chick out of the egg before? i dont want it to die because it cant get out...
I have had only 1 truly shrink wrapped chick. It was wiggling/rocking the egg so violently and yet no pip toward the end of Day 21. After the other eggs hatched, i decided to take the risk and look at the egg. i took it out of the bator and it had pipped and zipped on the underside where i couldn't see. It was completely dry and stuck like glue. there is a big difference between that and just an enhausted chick who is taking a while. be patient!
Heckel's Hens : I have had only 1 truly shrink wrapped chick. It was wiggling/rocking the egg so violently and yet no pip toward the end of Day 21. After the other eggs hatched, i decided to take the risk and look at the egg. i took it out of the bator and it had pipped and zipped on the underside where i couldn't see. It was completely dry and stuck like glue. there is a big difference between that and just an enhausted chick who is taking a while. be patient! Agreed.
no no that is exactly what happened he pipped and zipped a hole underneath i couldnt see now his beak is out but he looks real stuck... do i pick the shell??
I have used a mister after they are out. Let them be for an hour or 2. The moisture absorbs, and they will usually come out.
That happened with our last one. We ended up chipping it out with tweezers. We used wet q-tips to try help him first. We could tell it was getting weaker and tired from watching the beak and the chirps. we couldn't tell how tight it was stuck until we got a larger opening in the shell. I was told not to do it but it was one of those feelings after watching for 18 or so hours.
i helped my guy out, i wet with q tips and chipped away then let him do the rest.. he actually has a bad foot, once he dries im going to see if i can do something to correct it. his toes are curled... all the others did great and no issues with them, wonder what happened to him..
Quote:That might be why it couldn't get out. We had one that had something wrapped around the leg. She struggled for hours. I finally helped her out and it also had a curled foot. We put a shoe on her foot to flatten it and now you would never be able to pick her out of the crowd. You need to do an orthopedic intervention. We used a piece of toilet paper roll and 1st aid tape. Others use just band-aides to flatten the foot. Do it soon though before bones harden.
i took the chick out of the bator this morning and the foot is fine now, must have been dried and curled, its a cochin so its got the feather legs so im assuming thats what happened. im so glad!!!
