Hello, I really need help, one of my Japanese quail chick is stuck in its egg, it has been trying to get out for over 24 hours now, I can see through the little crack it made its chest beating so I know its alive. I don't know what to do but I have been told you cannot touch or try and help the chick, but what about in an emergency? Thank you :)
there are no rules on this, people who say you should never help mean they think you should leave it to nature
its hard being a tiny quail but others have helped ducklings out but it isnt easy and you have to be very careful not to make the chick bleed, if you can see its beak you could try what others have done and try to get some tiny drops of sugar water into it to give it an energy boost
will see if i can find you more help
Hi Jz,
this is what I usually advise about helping.
All the books and research says that you shouldn't help chicks out of the shell and that opening the incubator can affect the rest of the eggs hatching.I have not had to help quail hatch as they managed to all hatch at the same time and relatively easily. I have however had to help many a guinea fowl and more recently ducks out of their shell. If I hadn't have helped them out of their shells then I would only have one duck. All the ducklings grew well and are healthy, they are now 3 or 4 years old, I lose track of time!
From experience I have found that if a chick has not hatched itself within a few hours then I have found that they often die in the shell as the heat in the incubator dries up the shell and membrane and makes it difficult for the chicks to hatch.
If you do decide to help the chick out, remove the egg from the incubator quickly and cupping the egg in your hand to keep it warm carefully start to pick off the shell from where the egg has pipped as this is where the chicks beak is. I have always had to work quickly although you have to be very careful that the blood vessels in the shell don?t bleed as this can kill the chick. When I help a chick out I try to pick the shell off the head part first and work my way down. I never take all the shell off as the chick is attached to the shell at the base. I usually take the top off and try to make sure that the chicks head, wings and body are free. It is important to make sure that the chick can move about because once it goes back in the incubator the membrane and shell dry out and can get stuck to the chick. I then put the chick and attached shell back in the incubator and let the chick wriggle free in it?s own time.
Sometimes the guinea fowl keets have made it and sometimes they have still died.
Another thing to consider is once you have opened the incubator the temperature and humidity will be affected and this could stop other chicks from hatching.
I hope this information helps you make the right decision for you and that your chick is ok.
Best wishes
Sara @ farmingfriends
Thank you :) I helped him out as the shell had dried hard to him, I had to use tweezers and an eye dropper of warm water to finally get him free and un-stuck. But he is now very weak and cannot stand, I have sat him on a piece of card board in the corner of the incubator, any suggestions? The only other problem is I can hear other chicks cheeping through the eggs, and I think they are stuck to as the water was quite low (I feel really bad about this) and its been 3 days since when they were surposed to hatch, what can I do for them?
for the one who's hatched and weak try the sugard water others feel it really helps give them an energy boost, not sure what you can do for the rest maybe mist the eggs with a spray of water and keep a close eye for pipping which guess you already are x
Thank you soooo much mo :D I gave him the sugar water and he's going crazy with life!!! He's kicking around and trying to stand! Thank you, you are a life saver!
and of course thank you Sara :)
thanks Jz just repeating what ive heard others say and do along way to go yet hope the others hatch soon for you
Hi Jz,
do you know what the temp and humidity levels are, does the incubator need more water and then leaving shut so that the temp/humidity don't keep dropping. A tip is to add warm water and then the humidity won't go down too much.
Fingers crossed.
Best Wishes
Sara @ farmingfriends
If they are cheeping they need help or they will die in the shell. Very carefully remove a little shell after listening to find the end where the beak is. Moisten the area and help, if you can get to a beak, then drop sugar water onto it to give it an energy boost. Just be sensible and help a little or a lot depending on the severity of the dried membranes and strength of the chick.
Fingers crossed.
Sarah
Thank you, unfortunately the little one did not make it :( But I have another chick hatching now, the humidity is at 64% now and the temp is at 37.5, but now that the humidity is higher the second chick is getting out by himself fine :) It looks like I will have 3 little chicks on my first hatch :D That is if this little guy is all good :) I am collecting eggs for my next hatch now, but this time I will be careful with the humidity
Julia xx
ahh sorry to hear the little one didnt make it but you tried your best and gave it a fighting chance good luck with the rest x
Thank you :) I also have had another hatch but with deformed feet (as you can see I have not much luck) but I have put plasters on as it says to do and hes looking better :D
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