Intervention: Helping Your Chicks Hatch

[Ryu]

Quote:
I pop a hole in the top on day 21. I've got some hereditary hatching issues going on, chicks too big to turn, chick that fully formed and die in shell... anyway. If I wait until day 21, it's usually too late.

If there is someone home and they are in good position, I start a zip and put a wet piece of toilet paper over the hole. These usually finish their zip no problem. 90% of the time I make a hole, and they have already passed.

 

[Felicia]

This is very very helpful. I am going to be helping my chicks today, they are 3 days over due. I just hope I am not to late!

 

[barbersbabe]

Hello all,
We are new to this site, and gutted! We only wish we had found you yesterday!

We have incubated our Indian Running ducks who were due to hach in 2 days time. Three days ago we noticed that they had pipped into the air sakcs. We investigated every other site we could find. All said not to intervene. We had been watching our eggs wriggle, and listening to them chirp. This morning one had pipped so we had phoned for neices and nephews to come around. Then hubby noticed that they had not moved or made a noise.

We opened the pipped egg to find a fully formed dea one inside. The rubber membrane had been too tough to get through. So we opened three more dead ones. Finally we opened one where we could still see movement. Only just in time.

We have a wet cloth in there as we speek. Duckling head is out. There are some small blood vessels, but no bleeding.

Here's hoping we have at least one from the 6 (2 others had not even made it into the air sack. Guess we had a humidity issue).

Thanks for the confidence that we have finally dome the right thing.

Jayne and Alex

 

[jmckenzie]

Hello from Maine! On our 2nd attempt to hatch chicks - 1st round 8 of 14 eggs had chicks but none even pipped. Now have 11 of 14 w/ chicks, 1st pipped & got about 1" of shell poked & then died, 2nd is heading that way. I've gotten shell broken away but we obviously have a humidity problem. I've been trying to keep membrane moist, putting in more wet washclothes, we've got sponges in water pan to increase humidity, have covered holes mostly again...
How do I proceed in removing membrane if needed? When do I know for sure it's needed??

Update - took a chance, figured it out & we have a chick peeping & drying! Very cool! Praying for at least one more so it can have a pal.

 

[ArizonaDesertChicks]

I have an unusual circumstance and am wondering if helping this chick out will give it a better chance.

It is late into day 21 - I had to take this last egg away from my broody so it has a better chance of making it. My broody is not staying on her nest and she just broke another egg with a fully developed chick in it this morning and now I only have 1 left. It pipped after I brought it in and it cheeps at my when I pick it up.
If it was in an incubator, I'd have no trouble waiting, but since it's not and I have no way of judging humidity, I'm wondering whether I should help it along a bit.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=189266

I will get it a buddy or two from the feed store if it survives. I have another broody sitting on eggs, but I can't put this chick under her or she will stop sitting on the rest of her clutch (she has 2 weeks to go).

 

[hinkjc]

Here's another very informative thread that many new members may find helpful.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=45583&p=1

These are all linked in the "read me's on hatching" sticky at the top of this forum. There are also many other great links to help with troubleshooting your hatch and such.

 

[toadstoolmamma]

HI! I'm new here but not to chickens. I have been raising birds for about 6 years, right now all I have are chickens and muscovies, but I have had turkeys, geese, and ducks as well.

I logged on here because I have a new hatch question. I had no idea there were other people helping their chicks out of the eggs, and honestly I've never had a problem with them being able to exit their eggs on their own until this hatch. Yesterday I pecked two stuck chicks from their eggs, one is doing just fine, but the other, for lack of a better word, looks all decrumpted from being in a stuck position in the egg. It is still in the incubator because when I put the two I had to peck out in with the chicks who easily got themselves out of their eggs, the first to hatch started pecking at the less capable babies. The healthier, more lively chick is in with it's sibs now and doing fine, but this other is still looking all drunk and having a hard time holding up it's head.

Anyway, does anyone have a good way of helping it get its feet straightened out? I know there's not much I can do about its head being too big, but if it could stand up better I think it would have a better chance. I am not sure how to proceed. It's been a day or so since I helped it out of the egg.

thanks in advance

 

[tadimaali]

I don`t know, if that helps, but I have had in every of my few hatches a chick that is "crooked" - it can`t stand up, drags itself around and the neck is crooked to one side. I read, that possibly they have had slipped both tendons, the last one I got few days ago could not straighten its legs, so i think that is what it had. They have not gotten better (since slipped tendons dont), the neck will not go more straight either

and I have to cull them.
But maybe your chick has some vitamin deficiency, I have read here, that people have good results by adding a vitamin to the water (Polyvisol or something). Some chicks will get better in few days - that`s what I have read, but not mine, and I really wonder, why this happens, as I have had this kind of chick in hatch that was on time and great, and now my last hatch was not so good and was late ...
Oh, and the ones I get that are crooked, always have hard time getting out of the shell too.

 

[wolbachacreas]

We had a broody hen and she sat and sat on about nine eggs. We had five hatch the week before fathers day and one hatch later that week. I wish I new about helping the chicks out. One of the remaining eggs was fully developed and it died in the shell. It must have been way to big for the shell and couldn't move to finish up. One of the other eggs was never developed and the other one was only partially developed. They are beautiful and very healthy. We have a heat light glowing on the area where they are with mom. Do you think I should start turning the light off for periods of time? Mom is doing a great job at keeping them warm and is very protective. I make it a point to give her some special treats like lettuce or strawberries. She gobbles them up and like to show the ckicks how to eat. What an amazing process.

 

[MommaHen23]

Hello,

Well I would like to thank everyone for their information.

I took matters into my own hands, unfortunately before I found this info.

I have had peafowl and peafowl eggs for about a year, and this is the only egg I have had issues with. It had been over 24 hours since the beginning of pipping. So I intervened like an idiot. There is some blood, but he seems to be breathing just fine on his own. He is curled up in a little ball, just sleeping. I've got him on a warm, wet towel in the bator. Is there anything else I can do??

Also, do I need to try and get the blood cleaned up for the other about-to-hatch eggs?? The blood is the size of a nickle. I feel so terrible!! But if I didn't help, I don't think he would have had any chance at all. He sure was struggling.

Thanks again everyone, this is a wonderful thread!!