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This forum is for advice about initial treatment given to your injured/sick bird until a qualified avian veterinarian is available. THIS IS NOT MEANT TO REPLACE VET CARE
My vet told me a bird at hatching would be termed a "premature birth" if a human doctor had to care for them. The chicks' bodies are so immature, their major organs are actually still forming. It is very common for a chick less than ten days old to die due to birth defects; which in humans would be a miscarriage of pregnancy. They are also very easily injured and die during this time. She told me to not pick up or handle them until they are ten days old unless it is absolutely necessary. I have had no early chick deaths since starting this rule.