[keeleysgal]

Hi all, I have joined this forum in the hope that someone out there will be able to offer me some advice. We are just hatching our very first clutch of guinea fowl eggs but have some problems...

They appeared to be overdue at first, although when candled 5 out of the 6 were full. They started to pip yesterday and by last night the first keet was fully out of the shell.

As most advice says not to 'egg watch' off we went to bed but upon checking this morning we have two hatchlings....  

No 1 seems to have a severely deformed foot and cannot stand even.
No 2 is standing but may have a slight foot deformaty too.

Any advice on what to do for the best or is early culling the ONLY option :?:

Also, is this due to them been overdue slightly?

Thanks all...

Keeleysgal

[poultrygeist]

Hi keeleysgal. Can't offer any advice but there are a few home hatchers on the forum so someone will be able to give a considered opinion soon.

Welcome to the forum and hope you get plenty from it.

rob  

[Aunt Sally]

I can't offer any advice either.

But if the one with a slightly deformed foot cannot stand well it could be due to Spraddle legs so have a look at this link, it shows a way to treat them.

http://www.poultryhelp.com/spraddle.html

[Kate and her Ducks]

I know nothing about guinea fowl but have hatched a few ducklings at home. What do you mean by deformed? When mine hatched their webbed feet were curled into a sort of claw and it took one or two a day or so to get going although most were up and about within hours. Could it just be from being cramped in the egg and will settle down now they are out? Pics might help.

[muntjac]

id look at the other eggs under a candle and try and determine where the head is ( not easy.then just put a small hole in it ( tweesers) the trick is to not go in to the belly area where the chick is still attached to the egg . best look for the air sac and you can go in this end very carefully remove the shell and just open the mebrane and let the chick have a fighting chance . if you do manage to do this you will then need to watch the chick every few mins so that its breathing etc  a small spray of warm water from the incubator on the chick will help .after an half hour try removing the shell in small pieces from around the air sac end until the chick is able to start pushing its self . if the egg is still atached to the chick ! do not pull it off! let it dry up on its own for half an hour more then it should just drop off . its not always succesful as some chicks are to tired to survive ..best of luck ..... for splayed leg just follow the advice on the previos posts and worry not about deformed toes etc the chick will manage anyways