Hi all.
I HAVE A CHICK TOTALLY TRAPPED IN DRIED MEMBRANE!
Egg pipped at midday on Saturday (uk time here). It quickly unzipped, but then seemed very stuck. I have read a lot about this sort of thing, and knew to just wait 24 hours. The next day, two further chicks had hatched, but not this one. We waited into the afternoon. we could see it was very stuck and pasted into its shell - having zipped almost all round we could see the membrane had separated from the shell entirely, in some parts maybe over 1/4 inch.
The chick was stuck, wrapped tight in the membrane, and worse, the membrane was clearly dry and yellowing. Through a small air hole in the incubator we used a long cotton bud to dampen the membrane, as we had read on a forum, VERY gently, and it just did not work. it would still wriggle and writhe a lot.
I know many people say never ever intervene, but some said if it gets near to 30hours and you are sure it needs help, you can cautiously try.
We lifted it out (humidity/temp didn’t drop) onto hot damp towel. It was very easy over the next 3 minutes to clear a lot of shell off, and we found the membrane was totally dry. It had FUSED to its ‘feathers’, and if I got a feather caught it would peep and cry and wriggle. But it was totally stuck. We put it back. Wait an hour. Pull it out, find the airsack ring is fused to it, and a whole new patch of fused feathers - it was like someone had covered it in glue. I went to pull the membrane back downwards, but found yellow goo - the YOLK? This was now over 30 hours from initial unzipping, and I didn’t disturb any more. I put it back. An hour later, its airsack shell came off, but now, nearly 36 hours later, it is still bundled up, stuck to the bottom of its egg, with its leg sticking out.
Is it doomed? should I take off all shell? Should I leave it to ‘absorb the yolk’ or did it hatch far too early without yolk energy then dry out? Attached are very bad photos through the incubator of it now, and it earlier when the membrane separated (always with its yellow chick friend). Humidity and temp seem to be good.... others hatched AFTER it, successfully.
Sorry for the essay - what do I do?! It still moves, moves its leg, peeps, breathes. I’ve seen its beak etc. It’s clacked its beak.
I HAVE A CHICK TOTALLY TRAPPED IN DRIED MEMBRANE!
Egg pipped at midday on Saturday (uk time here). It quickly unzipped, but then seemed very stuck. I have read a lot about this sort of thing, and knew to just wait 24 hours. The next day, two further chicks had hatched, but not this one. We waited into the afternoon. we could see it was very stuck and pasted into its shell - having zipped almost all round we could see the membrane had separated from the shell entirely, in some parts maybe over 1/4 inch.
The chick was stuck, wrapped tight in the membrane, and worse, the membrane was clearly dry and yellowing. Through a small air hole in the incubator we used a long cotton bud to dampen the membrane, as we had read on a forum, VERY gently, and it just did not work. it would still wriggle and writhe a lot.
I know many people say never ever intervene, but some said if it gets near to 30hours and you are sure it needs help, you can cautiously try.
We lifted it out (humidity/temp didn’t drop) onto hot damp towel. It was very easy over the next 3 minutes to clear a lot of shell off, and we found the membrane was totally dry. It had FUSED to its ‘feathers’, and if I got a feather caught it would peep and cry and wriggle. But it was totally stuck. We put it back. Wait an hour. Pull it out, find the airsack ring is fused to it, and a whole new patch of fused feathers - it was like someone had covered it in glue. I went to pull the membrane back downwards, but found yellow goo - the YOLK? This was now over 30 hours from initial unzipping, and I didn’t disturb any more. I put it back. An hour later, its airsack shell came off, but now, nearly 36 hours later, it is still bundled up, stuck to the bottom of its egg, with its leg sticking out.
Is it doomed? should I take off all shell? Should I leave it to ‘absorb the yolk’ or did it hatch far too early without yolk energy then dry out? Attached are very bad photos through the incubator of it now, and it earlier when the membrane separated (always with its yellow chick friend). Humidity and temp seem to be good.... others hatched AFTER it, successfully.
Sorry for the essay - what do I do?! It still moves, moves its leg, peeps, breathes. I’ve seen its beak etc. It’s clacked its beak.
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