Good morning - Stucky made it! And that's what he's stuck with for a name. So there. Making me work that hard.
When I do help I've learned to do it really slowly, in tiny steps, giving them an opportunity to catch up and do it themselves along the way. Sometimes just a pip, a tiny portion of zip and some membrane damping and they flip around and get it done. So I let it take 12-14 hours. I have found the longer I let it take, usually the better they do.
Kicking out of the press-n-seal sleeping bag also really seems to get them that extra push. Before I used it, I think they were cooling too much in damp towels/paper towels. Since I've used it instead of evaporative material to contain heat and moisture I've had better results.
If I didn't hatch atypical eggs I wouldn't have as many that need help but I do so I take that responsibility. I have been banding those I've helped out differently. So far no differences. Including poults so ... guess it's working for me. The oldest group of helped poults is 8 weeks, there are seven in the group - three were helped out. They're doing well, no differences visible, in fact Brit, who was helped out first is one of the toughest biggest poults. And Marin, also helped, is the idiot that flew out of the six foot high pen the other day and survived the night in the damp alone.
Ponder is... 24 weeks, the oldest of this flock that I helped, healthy, laying, foraging on free range. Don't know what else can be expected of a bird. In my first flock, that I had to give up, I had three and four year old birds without problems who'd been helped so I don't know what "consequences" people are talking about.
Hmmm I ramble... more
I might have mentioned I hatched something rather than sleep. LOL. If I were a broody I'd die of sleep deprivation.