What do you think her chances of survival are?

[darklight6]

I had two chicks hatch a day early yesterday morning. Everything went smoothly, no problems. Then my third chick hatched last night around 9. She definitely came out before she was ready. The yolk was mostly absorbed but not fully. I had to remove the other two chicks because they kept pecking at her. Not ideal, but they were already fluffed out and none of the remaining eggs had pipped yet. I was hoping she would sit still and finish absorbing the last of the yolk. She's a bit smaller than her siblings.
I was both surprised and relieved to find her alive this morning (along with a healthy new chick.) It looks like she did absorb the rest of the yolk. I can't tell if her navel closed because she has poop stuck to her butt, blocking my view. Plus, it's hard to really see anything in the incubator. She seems active. She does have some gunk dried onto her head and back, as well as a piece of eggshell stuck to her.



She's the one on the left in both pictures. I'm going to wait and see, but I wanted to get some opinions. If she does live, how should I go about cleaning the pasted down fuzz? Or should I leave it alone? I think my thermometer is off a bit and the temp is too high. I've adjusted it a tiny bit. Was that the right move?

 

[AmyLynn2374]

First off, congrats. They are gorgeous. I am not all that experienced yet with only a couple hatches under my belt, but if that's her on the left, she looks pretty good. I have read many cases where the chicks were born or helped too early and still had the yolk sac or part of it to absorb and once it was absorbed and allowed to rest the chick was fine. I would say if she is active and moving around she'll probably be good. My one concern would be pasty butt. You said there was poop stuck on her butt. You'll want to keep an eye on that and keep it cleaned so that it doesn't block the ability to excrete more. If it is pasty butt you will want to try one of the remedies to clear it up as it can cause the demise of chicks if not corrected. There are different remedies argued: one being a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar in a gallon of water, another being molasses in the water. That would be my concern at the moment. May I make a suggestion....when you incubate, have at least 2 thermometers in the bator. That way you have peace of mind that (if they are calibrated/accurate) your average temp is going to be accurate and better your hatch. I lost my first hatch to a faulty thermometer and now I use 3.

 

[darklight6]

Thanks for the reply! I was planning on removing them both to take care of the pasty butt once the second chick fluffed out and if the other eggs still haven't pipped. Or would it be best to take her out now to clean right away? I will definitely be using multiple thermometers next time. I'm pretty sure my incubator is heating unevenly.

 

[AmyLynn2374]

Is that a little giant incubator, still air? Personally if the eggs aren't pipped I'd grab them, but there are many here that would say absolutely not, so that's a decision you'll have to make. My bator holds humidity well, so I wouldn't think twice about it, plus it is my belief they fluff better in the brooder. But that's me. I'd want to make sure the vchicks vent isn't plugged, and get that cleaned up. I lost a chick a week after it hatched due to pasty butt I couldn't resolve, so now I'm probably over sensative to it. Of course there might have been other things going on with him, but that was the one physical sign.

 

[darklight6]

I live in Florida, so my incubator holds humidity very well. If anything, it runs a bit high. I'm going to get everything ready and take the chance on cleaning her up. Wish me luck!

 

[darklight6]

I had to be careful not to touch the navel. I'm not really sure if this is healing correctly. Even the younger chick looks like it's closed.