Silkie chick just hatched. Has vaulted skull. Shaking and chirping non stop.

[Cirwin201]

Hi everyone! I’m new here and new to hatching. I just hatched my first group of Silkie chicks and one of them seems to be having some problems. First it took almost 30 hours to hatch, it seemed very stuck so I assisted with the hatch a little so it could get its head out. It was hatched with a vaulted skull. It mostly dried off so I put it in the brooder with the others. A couple hours later it is non stop chirping very loud and alarming. It’s also shaking it’s wings very fast almost like a tremor or seizure. At first the head was shaking but that stopped. It stops when it falls asleep but continues when it wakes up. I put it back in the incubator because it sleeps better in there. Help. Has anyone ever dealt with this? Thank you!

 

[ChickenLeg]

The vaulted skull shouldnt be an issue, its really common in silkies. Now Ive had chicks shake a bit when they are born but stop by the next day after they get in the brooder and dry off. Is the brooder warm enough?

**Just saw your pic, your vaulted skull is far more vaulted than any I ever hatched

 

[ChickNanny13]

Sounds like your brooder isn't warm enough, therefore it prefer being in the incubator. Brooder should be at least 95* for the first week, decreasing weekly. Post another picture once it's completely dried off. No clue about Silkies but they are ADORABLE

 

[Cirwin201]

Sounds like your brooder isn't warm enough, therefore it prefer being in the incubator. Brooder should be at least 95* for the first week, decreasing weekly. Post another picture once it's completely dried off. No clue about Silkies but they are ADORABLE

The vaulted skull shouldnt be an issue, its really common in silkies. Now Ive had chicks shake a bit when they are born but stop by the next day after they get in the brooder and dry off. Is the brooder warm enough?

**Just saw your pic, your vaulted skull is far more vaulted than any I ever hatched

Oh ok! Thank you so much for that relief. I didn’t know if that was a brain issues (eek)
I actually moved them BACK to the incubator (shaking one first) and the intervals of shaking and sleeping were lessened. He eventually stopped shaking and fell asleep. So note to self: leave them in the incubator for a day or two.

Hopefully this thread helps someone else at some point. Thanks for the info!

 

[Cirwin201]

Sounds like your brooder isn't warm enough, therefore it prefer being in the incubator. Brooder should be at least 95* for the first week, decreasing weekly. Post another picture once it's completely dried off. No clue about Silkies but they are ADORABLE

Yes I think that was def the problem. The temp reader was saying 97 but I don’t think the temp was consistent throughout. Moved them back to the incubator since the only hatched 7-8 hours ago. (Is that too soon to move them to brooder?)

Thanks!

 

[ChickenLeg]

Yes I think that was def the problem. The temp reader was saying 97 but I don’t think the temp was consistent throughout. Moved them back to the incubator since the only hatched 7-8 hours ago. (Is that too soon to move them to brooder?)

Thanks!

I leave them in the incubator for about 6 hours after they hatch then move to brooder. Just make sure the brooder has a hot area and a cold area so they can walk and sit whereever is perfect for them. Keep the water out of the hot area, and I sometimes add some rocks in the waterer so they dont rest their heads in the water and drown. Best of luck!

 

[Cirwin201]

I leave them in the incubator for about 6 hours after they hatch then move to brooder. Just make sure the brooder has a hot area and a cold area so they can walk and sit whereever is perfect for them. Keep the water out of the hot area, and I sometimes add some rocks in the waterer so they dont rest their heads in the water and drown. Best of luck!

Ahh thank you so much!! Appreciate it