Stuck Keet

[River Lizard]

OK, we have one keet that seems to be stuck in his shell. It looks like his feathers are dried to the shell and he can't make it out all the way. He's also not opening up his eye or eyes (I can't see the other one)
Is there anything I can do to help him get the shell off of him? Doesn't look to me like it's going to come off since his feathers are dry. He's still curled in a ball within the shell but about 2/3's of the shell is gone.
He's active and trying to move but just can't get the shell off and it seems to me that his left leg/foot isn't moving much if any. His right leg and foot are working just fine, moving all around..

Any ideas?

We also had one break open a little hole in it's shell about 28 hours ago and there hasn't been movement since. Is there a chance it's still alive and just decided he likes it better inside the egg vs coming out? big_smile

 

[jvls1942]

OK, I am assuming you are talking about guinea keets.....

Normally I say, hands off, but in this case.. you must help.. take paper towels and wrap them tightly around the egg. soak the towels liberally with warm water.

hold he egg in your hands and keep adding water to keep it warm

this takes a while to do..

after about 15 minutes check to see if the membrane is softening.

when it gets soft enough, gently peel off what membrane is loose.

do not pull the membrane straight away from the egg, but rather pull it back on itself.. (not a good explanation)..

once you have the keet all loosened up, DO NOT help it out of the shell.. as long as it can move freely again, it will push itself out.. all you have too is make sure that memrane does not get dry again..

USUALLY at this point the keet will get out of the shell within a half hour..

 

[mamawolf544]

This is just me, there are different opinions.
But I would take a damp, warm paper towel and just work peice by peice. I am always careful to leave the bottom of the shell for them to push out of if I can, just in case they have not finished absorbing the yolk. And when he comes out he probably will be curled up in a ball. Just leave him alone and hopefully he will straighten out.
The one with the hole, when were they do to hatch? If he is still peeping just keep an eye on him. I usually only leave mine like that for 24 hours and then I hatch them. But that is me.
It does sound like the humidity was too low.
I have guineas in the bator and I went to take them out of the turner and I had 2 hatched already! Two days early.
Good luck,
Terri

 

[jvls1942]

now I will address the second part of your question..

the one that pipped and stopped is probably dead..

Your overall problem sounds like too low humidity..

In the future, If there is a pip of the smallest proportion, do not open your incubator..

At hatching time I raise the humidity to at least 65% for guineas and chickens..

this will not drown them, as somebody will be sure to jump in here and tell us..

the drowning comes way earlier during incubation... I will not go into that right now..

If for some reason yo MUST open the incubator during hatching, and there are very few reasons for it,
get a bottle of hot water and sprits the inside of the bator to get that humidity back up more quickly..

keep me posted , please..

..jiminwisc...........

 

[jvls1942]

We are on the same wave length Terri.. good.. now I just hope that somebody else does not jump in here with some useless advice.. We have it handled..

Now, phase 2 ......

after the keet hatches, the remaining yolk will harden on him again when he starts to dry off....

he is still on the critical list..

I would raise the humidity and put him back into the incubator to dry off..

when he is stronger and getting fluffy , you can put him under the lights...

Now here is something that will blow your mind..

If you have some 2 or 3 day old birds in the brooder, great.. put the newbie in there and watch..

the older birds will peck at the newbie.. do not panic.. they are just pecking the dried yolk off.

I do this all the time.. they will have it groomed in a couple of hours.......

Of course if ten of them go at it at one time, you will have to remove it.. but just an occasional peck here and there will not harm it..

all species do it to each other..

...jiminwisc........

 

[River Lizard]

Getting photos to post in a few minutes....

The upper area of the back has the shell dried on it. I've wrapped him in a warm paper towel and put him back in the incubator and also put an additional sponge soaked in warm water to add more moisture to the incubator. None of the other hatchings that have come out had any problems like this.

 

[River Lizard]

Thanks for the help on this. My wife is watching while I'm out working on the chicken coop but she doesn't post so she came out and told me that I got some responses from my post.
Hopefully with all your advice, I'll be able to get the shell off his back so he can move around and start eating like the rest of them are.

 

[jvls1942]

Quote:
$h!L happens.

the stuff on the back in not a big problem.. we just do not want his wings and legs to bind up..

 

[River Lizard]

OK......I ended up giving him a bath making sure his head never got close to the warm water. After about 5 minutes of soaking, parts of the shell started dropping off in the bowl. A couple more minutes and everything is off him. We have him in a separate container with a warming light on him. He's moving some. Going to let him warm up after the bath ordeal and let him get some energy back. If he looks like it's recovering good and is alert, I'll put him in with the rest of the keets.

Thanks everyone. I've upped the humidity in the incubator and will not open the cover again.
Appreciate everyones help on this.

 

[jvls1942]

You did all that you could.. Now we just wait.. hope he makes it..

it is so much easier when they pop out of the shell on their own, isn't it