What is this THING???

[blaines.insane]

This is my first time hatching.

Just hatched a silkie chick this morning, and noticed some strange protuberance from its abdomen (or is it its anus?)

It looks like its intestines got pulled out its abdomen when it launched out of its shell.

Anyone ever seen anything like this before? Should I be concerned? Is there anything I can do?

Thanks,
Blaine

 

[MissPrissy]

That is the place where the yolk is not completely absorbed. Don't mess with it. If it breaks the chick will die a slow death most likely from infection.

If the chick was in the bator put it back in and leave it alone for 18 hours and see if it will heal over. If you alreadyhave it in the brooder keep other chicks away from it as they will peck it and tear it open.

Use caution, keep the brooder clean and keep the chick warm.

 

[wegotchickens]

Looks like the yolk didn't fully absorb.
Don't let the other chicks peck at it.

 

[Fresh Eggs]

Oh my, dont touch it!!!! That is the last of its yolk and internal organs that it is drawing in!!!! It will either dry up and fall off or it will be absorbed into its body. I would say put it back in the bator for another day, keep it away from other chicks and keep the brooder very clean when it is in there so it does not infect.

 

[Mrs.Puff]

Looks like an unabsorbed yolk sac. Basically, the belly button. This is bad. This chick won't make it probably.

 

[MissPrissy]

I hope you don't take this the wrong way but with the number of threads you have posted on hatching and helping eggs to hatch and now this one I think you need some help and advise.

If you can't buy books go to the library and check out some books on hatching and raising baby chicks. You really need to educate yourself on the subject so that you can play a proactive role in raising healthy chicks. Experience can be the best teacher but it is always better to be equiped with some real knowledge on what to expect when dealing with hatching eggs and fresh new chicks.

There is a ton of information available not only here on BYC but all over the internet, especially from universities with Poultry Science courses. Your local Extention office will also have a great resource of information for you to draw from.

Please, I urge you, get some books and read, read, read before setting another hatch.

Hatching early, hatching without absorbed yolk and other issues indicates there could have been something off in your temps and or humidity. Please study about hatching and the cause and effect of the temps and humidity before you decide to hatch another batchof eggs. Sure these are just chicks but they are also a life that you are now responsible for and always being educated on a subject is better than stumbling around trying to learn on the fly.

I am not being harsh please understand that. But sometimes it is better for someone to tell you point blank than to dance around a subject.

 

[TexasVet]

I wholeheartedly agree with Miss Prissy. Storey's Guide to Raising Chickens is only about $13 and is worth every penny. You'll save yourself a lot of grief and false starts if you spend a little time reading thru it.

I've combed through Amazon and come up with 75 books related to chickens, some of which are VERY inexpensive, especially if you buy them used. So go check them out: http://astore.amazon.com/countchick-20

Good luck!

Kathy in Texas

 

[blaines.insane]

Miss Prissy,

I appreciate being told outright. I'm not one to "dance around" issues, either.

In my defense, I have read several books, and have spent over 100 hours probably reading the forums and other online resources. The trouble is, there is too much conflicting information. One source says take them out of turner 1-2 days prior to hatch, while another says 3 - 4 days prior to hatch. One source says help them along after 24 hours. Another says don't touch them at all, let nature run its course. One source says hatch on the floor, another, in a carton. One says, mist the eggs, while another says no.

When surrounded by whirlwinds of doctrine, the only course is to take it all into consideration and listen to your heart. Unfortunately, the heart can't see into the future... so sometimes you're wrong. But at least you fail knowing that you gave it your best shot.

Don't think for a moment that I don't take these lives seriously, or that this is just some silly game to me. I respect and appreciate all of God's creations, from the magnificent eagle to the pesky mosquito.

I really don't think there was anything wrong with my incubator settings. I tended to the water tray regularly, and only opened it up 5 or 6 times to quickly candle, then gently returned them. None of the other chicks exhibited any clues that they were having a hard time getting out, due to sticking membranes. Once they started zipping, they popped right out. The first pip happened a few hours before day 21 -- right on schedule. Two hatched on day 21 without a hitch. This poor guy, with the yolk sack hangin out, hatched at 4:30 this morning. 4 out of six hatched within 4 hours +/- of the due date. If I had been patient with the first one, it probably would have hatched itself out fine... however, I maintain that he was simply to large for his shell. Maybe he would have made it, maybe not.

As for why this guy has his yolk hanging out, I don't have an answer. He didn't hatch early, per se, because he was technically 4 hours overdue. He chose to come out when he did, not me. If there were something wrong with the way I ran the incubator, doesn't it stand to reason that others would be showing up with similar problems?

Regardless of the mistakes I've made, they are all still alive. The one I mistakenly helped out (based on advice given on this forum) has perked up considerably, and is now standing and hobbling around. I realize there is a chance he still will not make it. I hope and pray that he will. If not, God will take him back, and all is well...

Respectfully,
Blaine

 

[MissPrissy]

I appreciate where you are coming from, Blaine. Sometimes doing everything we know to do isn't enough and sometimes its overkill. It is really hard to find a midline and try to stay on the best side.

This is where your experience will come to play far more than what you read.

How many thermometers and what type are you using to test the temps in the bator? Even 1 degree can create issues that effect hatching. An auto turner raises the temps too by about 1 - 1.5 degrees I have found too.

Some chcks do pip early and spend as long as 48 hours before they come out.

Some breeds like my blue orps never pip till late day 21. Some will pip late day and not hatch for 36 hours.

21 isn't a magic number. It can take some chicks from day 21 - 23 to pip and hatch. All you can do it give the best hatching environment and hope for best.

Even then you can have an absolutely nitemarish bloody hatch.

The parent stock - the breeders - also play a role in the chicks developing and how they hatch.

Any of the chicks that you help hatch and those that initially hatch with issues but pull through are great chickens, but they are not what you want to use to breed a next batch from. They are weak, genetically speaking, and they pass on those traits.

Are you using your own eggs? Local eggs? Shipped eggs? All of those factors plus the heat and humidity play a huge role in the outcome.

Read, read, read.

Keep notes daily on your egg temps and humidity.

Make notes on the daily weather outdoors.

You will be able to formulate a pattern and aplan for yourself for the best hatching environment.

What works for me in the foothills of the blue ridge in Va isn't exactly the same that will work for someone like Speckledhen in the mountains of Ga.

I hope things go well for you and the chicks pull through.

Again, I wasn't being harsh, just trying to point you into a better knowledge source.

You may also want to look through the learning center and read up on dry incubation and other hatching techniques.

 

[blaines.insane]

You Can Read Too Much
You know, I think my biggest problem is that I researched too much. As I mentioned before, there is so much conflicting information out there, and by the time I had absorbed it all, I was so confused that I didn't know what was right or wrong anymore. I began to doubt and second-guess everything -- which is why when hatch day approached I started asking all these questions about things I had read -- and even things I hadn't even heard of until they happened to me.

Hatch Day
As hatch day approached, school started back up, and I ended up enrolling in two extra classes that I needed for my degree. Those two classes each required a 6 page research paper, due the first and second week. I spent every waking moment working on homework, rather than refreshing my mind on what I was supposed to do when. That is why I still had my eggs in the turner on day 19 -- which may well have contributed to some of the problems I experienced. But in my mind, I wasn't supposed to take them out until day 19 or 20. I was so sure that I didn't take the time to double-check. It was only when everyone started going crazy on here that I decided I needed to go back and check. Sure enough, right there in the 'bator operating manual, it says 1 - 2 days before hatch. So my recollections were correct. However, the source of the information may not have been. I checked in the book, Living With Chickens, and it says take them out on day 18.

Don't Trust The Manufacturer?
I suppose I made a mistake by following the Hovabator manual. I figured they had been making 'bators for decades, as well as running a huge, successful quail hatchery... so they must know what they're talking about, right? I bought the Genesis 1588, which is electronically controlled. Every single review I've read, here and elsewhere, raves about that model. I thought I had made a well-thought-out choice.

Environment
As for the environment, I followed all the sound advice to the letter. I placed the incubator in our large pantry, safely out of harms way. The pantry is rarely disturbed, and, being in the center of the house, in the basement, with no windows nor HVAC ducts, it stays a very constant 70 - 72 degrees. We enter the pantry an average of about 5 times per day, and we left the door ajar throughout the process to allow for plenty of fresh air circulation. My brooding pen is in there as well. It is clean, everything is new. I have lined the bottom with hardware cloth, followed by a layer of fresh pine shavings. The hardware cloth serves to keep the shavings from shifting, and gives them sure footing. I have moved the first two healthy birds out to the brooder and they are cheeping quietly and contentedly. Although this is my first time hatching, it is not my first time raising chicks into chickens. The only chicken I've ever had die on me was one that I got from Ideal last year. It was half dead when it got here, and it had bum legs, so it was immobile. I tried all the methods I got from members of another list, including pipe cleaners on the feet, to putting in a dixie cup to force it to use its legs. It just didn't have the strength or the will to survive, and after a week or so, it gave up.

So you see, I've done everything I know to do right. I don't know everything -- far from it. I have learned some profound lessons with my first experience. Next time I hatch (and I will hatch again), I will not make the same mistakes.

My Incubator
Now, about my incubator... The only thermometer it has is the one that came with it. The manual says straight out, don't trust it, it may not be accurate. Instead, it says, trust the factory settings, and only adjust temps based on the outcome of your hatches. They advocate the trial and error method. I don't want to have bad hatches. I was doing research trying to find out which digital hygrometer/thermometer would be best to use so that I could be absolutely sure. However, in reading reviews, I discovered that none of the ones I found had proven to be accurate. Many reviewers had placed different models side by side, as well as the salt-solution test, and there are always disparities between each model, and sometimes even between two of the same model. So what can you trust? Do we have to buy a $300 hygrometer/thermometer to know for sure? Which brand/model(s) do you use? Others? I had wanted to buy one for this hatch, but based on the information I had available, I wasn't able to find one in time that I felt I could trust. So I abandoned the idea and decided to trust my Genesis. I didn't keep notes on the temps, because every time I peeked (several times a day) the thermometer read exactly 100 degrees. I thought that was good enough.

Eggs
The eggs I am hatching were shipped, via express mail, from Tennessee (I think?). It took them two days to get here. I got a total of 14. They were packed somewhat poorly, IMHO, but none were cracked. However, 3 were infertile, and 5 were scrambled. Considering that only six arrived in viable condition, and all six developed, I feel blessed -- even if the last two don't hatch.

Finally, I know you weren't being harsh. Thank you for your concern.

Blaine