URGENT! just hatched chick has stuff coming out of bottom

Hi All:
Oh, I am so sorry to post this on what should be a happy weekend. But, I really need help. I am hatching chicks for a friend, and the first to hatch has a sack of nasty stuff hanging out its bottom. It is flopping about, but still very much alive and showing a will to continue with life. A second chick has hatched, one is zipping and two others are still waiting in the incubator. The stuff coming out seems to be squishy and wrapped in something clear (like plastic wrap). I am fearful it is intestine hanging out, about one inch from the little thing. At first it just looked brown, now it looks red and much more like gastro-stuff.

Help, please. I cannot stand if it is suffering, but I am not wanting to open the incubator with the others in there. I will need to seriously rouse up the fortitude to put it out of misery. Help! Help if you can.

Any advice? MANY THANKS...sorry to bum anyone out...

It might be that it hasn't absorbed all of the yolk yet. If he looks fine, just leave him be.

It looks redish brown and has wormy stuff...like intestines!!!! Would the yolk look this? Also, it was not there when it first hatched. Thanks for responding!

Quote:
That's right!!! Just let it be for now...

Well, the little thing is still alive and flopping. Geeeessshhhhhhh.....this can be so trying.

Will it just dry up and fall off?

They are always really floppy when they first hatch--hang in there! It will look half-dead, and flop around the incubator like something is seriously wrong. Takes about an hour to start acting somewhat coordinated. Even then, it'll flop around a bit.

When incubation conditions are "off" a bit, I will sometimes have ducks hatch with stuff attached to their belly button--just old gunk leftover from in the egg, bits of unabsorbed yolk, whatever. The "wormy" bits could be the umbilical cord (even birds have umbilical cords!).

The only thing that concerns me from your description is the fact that you said it wasn't there when it first hatched. If that is true, then I would be concerned. But are you sure you just didn't notice it because it was still inside the egg, and maybe not visible at first?

In any event, there is not very much you can or should do. Leaving it to dry, warm up, and grow strong in the incubator is absolutely the best thing for it. And it will probably be fine--they are amazingly tough!

And congrats--your first bird baby!!

P.S. If it's what I think it is, it will indeed dry up and fall off. If it's still there when you remove the chick from the incubator, you can clip it off with sharp clippers so it won't get tangled on its legs and such.

And yes, it's always trying! In my second summer of hatching, and I still get nervous and anxious about every single egg.

Are there red veins in it? If there are, it is unabsorbed yolk and it will look like a small yolk sac only surrounded by a network of veins. These chicks can survive but you have to leave it alone and not allow other chicks to pick at it. Otherwise it is the stringy "afterbirth" with an umbilical cord that is fairly normal and harmless.

Ok, well, I had to do something...
Here is what I did. I moved the two chicks from the incubator. I did this because the one little black with the unabsorbed yolk (I can tell now that it what it must be, there are veins in it and comes from stomach, not bottom) was flopping all over and stepping on the sac...there is blood all over the incubator floor. The other super strange thing is both chicks will not fluff up. The first has been out nearly 24 hours and still flopping (the black with icky sac thing). The second came out this morning and is more active and coordinated, but still looks wet. I removed them from the incubator to the "broody" aquarium, the felt stiff...like ultra strong hair gel.

Why won't they fluff up?

I have them on paper towels at about 98-100 degrees.

I was trying to dry up that yolk sack as the blood had me worried.

The black chick with the yolk still attached is just laying very still, but breathing. When she is stumbled on by her companion, she does sit up and sort of flop to another spot.

Did I mess up REALLY bad? I have one other in the incubator that zipped about 20 hours ago and has not come out. I see her beak moving...I am ready to get her out and clean up that blood. There are two more eggs that have not pipped yet from what I can see. I have opened the incubator several times to remove water, worried that the humidity was not letting them fluff. But, they seem dry, just stiff and sticky.

I kept the humidity at 55-60 % the last three days. All our other hatches worked out great.

Have I ruined all their chances?

THANKS!

no things should be ok. if you get the chance soak a paper towel with warm water. warap the chick with the yolk sack not absorbed in it like a buritto with just the head exposed. Make sure paper towel is really wet, not just damp and chick is wrapped in it nice and tight. prop up in corner of bator and leave it like that until the rest of the hatch is done. by then when you remove the other chicks hopefully it will have absorbed the yolk. I have had this happen a few times and the papertowel works great.