crippled quail chicks

[Ted_in_Idaho]

I had 420 bobwhite eggs  in the incubator the majority hatched in a day after pipping. A bout 20 pipped, zipped lll the way around and didn't come out. I took one and slowly removed the top and he pushed out. His feet is all buggered up. I did the remainders and all were alive with the same feet problem. They are hobbling on the sides of there feet. They were in the eggs a full 24 hours after zipping and I take it that is what caused the problem. I think my humidity was to low for the hatch.  Can anyone tell me what exactly happened? What did I do wrong??

My wife and daughter too them and trying to give them a chance and Ifigure I need to put them down

[alan vallejo]

hi you are in the corect pad the isue is the humidity, i use to open the hatcher and that make it lose humidity and some of the chiks came with that problem, in the mayority of the cases they die because competition for food.  since then i leave the complete hatch 24 extra hrs in the hatcher.
i live in mexico city and the we are at a hig altitud here so i use about 75-80% humidity at hatch time.

[Ted_in_Idaho]

I think my humidity was to low. I had it 40 until last 3 days and bumped it up to 60. Its different the chickens. I put the cripple down instead of letting them suffer. I hatched these for someone else and he picked them up this morning. I am waiting to get some big Butlers and think I have found them.

[angiec]

I just had my first hatch and I have one that has this same problem. I know now that i should have helped him out sooner but I didn't know what to do. I guess I need to put him down but I sure hate the thought of having to do that.

[Pheasant Hollow Farm]

I just had my first hatch and I have one that has this same problem. I know now that i should have helped him out sooner but I didn't know what to do. I guess I need to put him down but I sure hate the thought of having to do that.

That's part of life.

If you continue in the bird hatching arena you will have your fareshare of culling.
Most chicks that have a hard time getting out of the shell will not make it past the 3rd week, even helped by human hands, if they are even that lucky.

Steve
Pheasant Hollow Farm

[phoebedweeby]

I had this problem with one of my last batch(only 1)  I thought his feet were so badly deformed he would never make it.  How wrong was I.  I put a thick layer of bedding in my old hamster cage and slowly bit by bit first one leg then the other unfurled  until now you wouldn't have known anything was wrong with him.  I don't know if this will help any but it worked for my little bird.