When to cull

[lazy gardener]

My hatch is winding down. I got a lot of nice chicks. One of them was shrink wrapped, and I helped her out. It was a nice little female, but one leg is deformed, looks like it was screwed on backwards. The next one to make it out of the shell on her own, Unfortunately, an other female... has an area in the abdomen that is not closed. It's .5 cm. wide and 1 cm long. I expect to cull the one with the leg deformity. Is there any hope for the one with the ? hernia?. If this area does heal and close up, would she have any future as a layer? One other chick has been at pip stage for quite a while. I hesitate to help it out, after seeing what these 2 have presented with... but, i'll never know, if I don't try. I know that the recommendation is to let nature take it's course... but... The remaining non pips will be checked when it gets dark tonight, and i'll decide what to do with them then.

 

[lazy gardener]

Update: I took the pathetic little chick into a steamy bathroom, and immersed her in a sink full of warm water. It took quite a while to get all of the membrane and glue off her. But after, the leg came into correct position, the wing that looked dislocated looked better. She's a good sized chick, and appears chilled in the incubator, and is stuck on her back for now, but, I think she's a fighter. If she survives, we'll name her Phoenix.

 

[MrsBachbach]

An unabsorbed yolk will sometimes close on it's own if not too much is left. Try to keep it clean. Maybe put on a moist paper towel and back in the incubator. Keep it dark in there so the other chicks won't bother it. I would at least give it another twelve hours. As far as the pipped eggs, it's best to wait. Everytime I have ever tried to help just a pipped chick out, it has been too soon and much bleeding ensued, the yolk wasn't absorbed or the chick was just too weak to hatch anyway. They don't often thrive. Now if the chick has zipped through part of the shell then stops, I wait about 10 hours and if he hasn't made any progress, I help him out. That is usually a sign of a stuck(glued to the shell) chick which can happen if the humidity changes in the incubator.

 

[lazy gardener]

The glued chick seems to be doing well. I've removed the last 4 of them, including her from the incubator. When I inspected the bellies, I saw no evidence of herniation. They're now nestled in a Rubbermaid bowl, wrapped in a terry cloth nest, and covered with a napkin, in the brooder, under the light. They are content and looking good. I put betadine on all of their umbilici. the last 5 eggs have been candled, and are hanging out in the incubator... after I cleaned up all the nastiness. They get a 2 day reprieve before they either surprise me and hatch, or I throw them away.

Thanks for your response.