Super Glue stuff on newly hatched?

[NCchicken]

I have a chick that hatched out sometime last night. I came home from work and it still looked wet but the other one that hatched last night looked dry. So I took out the one that still looked wet and its feathers are stuck to it's body and are hard, like super glue. I have read about this here on BYC but I can't find the thread. I have tried to "swish" it around in warm water and wipe it off with a papertowel. I put the chick back in the bator to dry but I just touched it again and it's still hard and the feathers are still stuck to it. What would you do in this situation? Wrap a warm wet papertowel around it and leave it in the bator? BTW, my humidity is really high, right now it's at 90%. I assume that is the problem but how do I help the chick?

 

[snazzyboots]

i have had that happen to varying degrees. on the worst one it didn't come off and as he feathered in he lost all of his fluff and was kind of bald before the feathers grew in. it didn't seem to affect him at all except in the looks dept. everyone called him baldy. he is now 5 weeks and almost fully feathered. hope your little ones do ok.

 

[M@M@2four]

I would take him out and gently wash him off in warm water--it takes a it of gentle rubbing with warm water to remove that hard coat. The chicke can't feather out otherwise. Then after your done getting all the stuff off, let him dry out in the bator or under a heat lamp. I also dry them carefully under a blow dryer. Good luck!

 

[NCchicken]

Thanks! I will try to gently rub off some of the glue in warm water again and blow dry him again. But I just noticed that I have another pip, so I might wait until tomorrow. I appreciate you guys taking the time to answer my question! BYCers Rock!

 

[snazzyboots]

i tried to rinse off the one who was most sticky but it had dried to the point that it didn't come off. i did have another one that hadn't gotten quite as dried on sticky nad rinsed that one off successfully. good luck

 

[Denninmi]

If you're going to wash it in warm water, could you add a tiny bit of Johnson's Baby Shampoo to the water to act as a surfactant and break up the egg goo? You'd have to be careful to keep it out of eyes, ears, and beak, but the stuff is nontoxic and non-irritating. There is probably even an unscented version on the market.

Just thinking out loud here, don't know if this would work or help.

 

[NCchicken]

I thought about a baby shampoo as well, but I don't have any so I just used warm water and a washcloth. The stuff FINALLY came off and I used a hair dryer on low heat and the little guy loved it! The chick was basically basking in the heat of the dryer. But now I put the chick in the brooder with three others and it just stands there under the heat lamp with droppy wings not eating or drinking and every 10 seconds or so it cheaps for a bit then stops and then starts up again. I put it's beak in water about four times, I saw it drink but that's it. The chick isn't wandering around exploring like the others, instead just standing there nodding off. I figure it's exhausted and needs a rest. I have my fingers crossed that it will make it through the night. I "think" it might be my chick that hatched and pipped from the wrong end anyways so I'm stoked that the little guy made it this far!