crossed beak

[cedarpondfarm]

Out of 400 eggs in the incubator, I was lucky to have less than 3 dozen that didn\'t hatch.  Most of them didn\'t develop but there were a few that candled full term and just didn\'t pip.  
I helped four chicks out of the shell who did pip but just couldn\'t get crackin.  All four acted and looked normal, but smaller, in the beginning.  By 2 or 3 months of age, all four had crossed beaks.  
They were from different roosters so I don\'t think it is genetic.  I guess it had to do with conditions in incubation.  

What are the chances for a chick who is helped out of the shell to be a normal, healthy adult?  If they have trouble getting out of the shell, will their offspring have the same problem?  

[dak]

I\'m fairly new to this, but I have helped several who don\'t zip like yours.  The majority are comepletely normal in appearance.  I had one that was never as hardy and faded after two days. dak

I\'m going to add that these are shipped/artificially incubated eggs, who in my mind are under some additonal unnatural conditions to begin with.

I can understand the mentality of not aiding naturally reared chicks, and survival of the fittest,  but the psot office preculls a good portion of my eggs.

[John]

helped out of the shell

My overall experience is they will be weaker than the others and often die within the first week.  If they are too weak to hatch on their own they may have a genetic reason for it, especially when you know all the breeders are fed the same thing and they and the eggs are subject to the same environment.  There are other possibilities also, like the hen lays an extra hard shell or a chick hatching later may be subject to different heat and humidity in the hatcher than the early ones.  Seldom do I help any, but do sometimes when the grand kids are helping as I move chicks from the hatcher.

[Birch Run Farm]

Over time I\'ve helped a couple out, most did fine and grew up to be perfectly normal.  I have had some do the fade away thing John mentioned.  

Now and then I\'ve also had chicks hatch perfectly fine on their own and die for no aparent reason a few days to a week later.  Nature\'s way.