Just this morning I had a coturnix quail chick fully zip, but was having trouble getting out of the shell after several hours, as he was backwards I figured he might need a little help, so simply split the egg completely and let him push his way out. Everything was dry, umbilical cord was just a desiccated thread, no blood, yolk and liquid inside shell was dried on, chick was lively and ready to go but he had a yellow lump the size of two peas (big for a quail!) protruding just under the vent (was not a vent prolapse). It was a mostly absorbed yolk sac and he was more than ready to hatch. You see this often enough in mammals, an umbilical hernia where the body wall fails to close over the navel/umbilicus/belly button and it can range in severity from a minor nuisance to deadly. But what about in birds where there is a big chunk of yolk just sitting there instead of a bit of skin? What is the prognosis? How do you deal with it? So I hopped on google and only came up with more questions, even the post on backyard chickens only had people saying they had a chick with this issue, what do I do, any updates on previous posts, etc.
First make sure the chick is fully developed, 'term' as it were. If this is an assisted hatch or a crushed egg, don't rush in to help, if you see blood, or the chick is making a chewing motion with its bill, it isn't ready to hatch yet, it is still absorbing the yolk, keep it in a warm, moist incubator and check every hour or so, but this information is not helpful in a pre-term chick! If you let it mature, it will most likely resolve on its own, as this is normal at this developmental stage!
So you have a full term chick with a weird protrusion between its legs, probably yellow, maybe bloody, what now? First make sure it isn't a prolapsed vent (should be right under tail and bright red or black and crusty if dried). If it isn't the vent, then we can move forward.
The two biggest issues faced by these chicks is infection and herniation of guts and abdominal contents outside the body. You could theoretically just leave it, but that yolk is delicious to bacteria and if there is a hole in the belly wall, you risk guts spilling out. Isolation and limiting movement are definitely helpful factors at this point, you don't even need an imagination to know what the other chicks will do to that little protuberance! You could try gently pushing it into the body cavity, but if it doesn't go, you are stuck with dealing with it and it may even burst.
It also depends if the body wall has sealed under the protruding yolk sac, which is really hard to tell. If that's the case you don't have a hernia, just a hanging bit of yolk that should dry up and fall off. Most cases probably are not this easy, if that yolk is still hanging there it is likely preventing the body wall from closing. In mammals you'd push in or remove any occluding tissue then suture the body wall together or place some sort of band or pressure device on it to encourage the sides to heal together but you can't do that with yolk!
I opted to fix it surgically, making special consideration for keeping the little guy warm. I had someone hold the little guy while I incised the yolk, just to make sure we didn't have guts trapped inside. It was just runny, sticky yolk, good so far, except it is still connected to the internal yolk sac that has already been absorbed! Some of that ran out and we cleaned up as best we could, pushing most of it back in, not wanting to risk the guts following it out. There was a 1/4 inch hole in the belly wall, which is significant for a quail chick! I closed it with a couple sutures, cutting the ends short so the other chicks wouldn't peck at it.
Now I have other things to consider, yes the hole is closed and the hernia is gone, but he looks all 'ganted up' compared to a usual yolk toting quail chick, he isn't going to have that energy and nutrient reserve like he should. That yolk could also cause problems if it leaks into the belly cavity (egg yolk peritonitis anyone?!). Also bacterial infection is still an issue both from the yolk and the open body wall. The little bugger isn't out of the woods yet. I put him on oral amoxicillin for the bacterial issue, I can't do much about the egg yolk peritonitis except euthanize him if he gets sick in the next 3 days but it may never happen either (not sure if the yolk sac is actually attached to the belly cavity or not), and I'm syringing a little sugar water into his mouth every couple hours to help keep his energy up, hopefully he starts eating and drinking on his own soon. Not much else to do but wait and see! But if I had left it alone he'd either herniate or die of peritonitis anyway, at least he has a chance. Prognosis on calves born with a large umbilical hernia out of which the guts protrude at birth or shortly thereafter is awful, but many times the cow steps on and tears the guts or they get horridly dirty or the blood supply is compromised before it is fixed, this guy at least isn't dealing with that, but the yolk could still be an issue. If he was a little bigger you could consider putting a small rubber band or similar around the base of the yolk sac (like banding calves or goat kids) and hope it would heal up (may just bust the yolk sac!) but that isn't an option on this little guy.
Overall, prognosis depends on the size of the hole, bacterial contamination, whether the guts herniate, and probably a bit of luck! This guy now has a chance but I wouldn't put it over 25%, which is better than 0% but still not spectacular.
First make sure the chick is fully developed, 'term' as it were. If this is an assisted hatch or a crushed egg, don't rush in to help, if you see blood, or the chick is making a chewing motion with its bill, it isn't ready to hatch yet, it is still absorbing the yolk, keep it in a warm, moist incubator and check every hour or so, but this information is not helpful in a pre-term chick! If you let it mature, it will most likely resolve on its own, as this is normal at this developmental stage!
So you have a full term chick with a weird protrusion between its legs, probably yellow, maybe bloody, what now? First make sure it isn't a prolapsed vent (should be right under tail and bright red or black and crusty if dried). If it isn't the vent, then we can move forward.
The two biggest issues faced by these chicks is infection and herniation of guts and abdominal contents outside the body. You could theoretically just leave it, but that yolk is delicious to bacteria and if there is a hole in the belly wall, you risk guts spilling out. Isolation and limiting movement are definitely helpful factors at this point, you don't even need an imagination to know what the other chicks will do to that little protuberance! You could try gently pushing it into the body cavity, but if it doesn't go, you are stuck with dealing with it and it may even burst.
It also depends if the body wall has sealed under the protruding yolk sac, which is really hard to tell. If that's the case you don't have a hernia, just a hanging bit of yolk that should dry up and fall off. Most cases probably are not this easy, if that yolk is still hanging there it is likely preventing the body wall from closing. In mammals you'd push in or remove any occluding tissue then suture the body wall together or place some sort of band or pressure device on it to encourage the sides to heal together but you can't do that with yolk!
I opted to fix it surgically, making special consideration for keeping the little guy warm. I had someone hold the little guy while I incised the yolk, just to make sure we didn't have guts trapped inside. It was just runny, sticky yolk, good so far, except it is still connected to the internal yolk sac that has already been absorbed! Some of that ran out and we cleaned up as best we could, pushing most of it back in, not wanting to risk the guts following it out. There was a 1/4 inch hole in the belly wall, which is significant for a quail chick! I closed it with a couple sutures, cutting the ends short so the other chicks wouldn't peck at it.
Now I have other things to consider, yes the hole is closed and the hernia is gone, but he looks all 'ganted up' compared to a usual yolk toting quail chick, he isn't going to have that energy and nutrient reserve like he should. That yolk could also cause problems if it leaks into the belly cavity (egg yolk peritonitis anyone?!). Also bacterial infection is still an issue both from the yolk and the open body wall. The little bugger isn't out of the woods yet. I put him on oral amoxicillin for the bacterial issue, I can't do much about the egg yolk peritonitis except euthanize him if he gets sick in the next 3 days but it may never happen either (not sure if the yolk sac is actually attached to the belly cavity or not), and I'm syringing a little sugar water into his mouth every couple hours to help keep his energy up, hopefully he starts eating and drinking on his own soon. Not much else to do but wait and see! But if I had left it alone he'd either herniate or die of peritonitis anyway, at least he has a chance. Prognosis on calves born with a large umbilical hernia out of which the guts protrude at birth or shortly thereafter is awful, but many times the cow steps on and tears the guts or they get horridly dirty or the blood supply is compromised before it is fixed, this guy at least isn't dealing with that, but the yolk could still be an issue. If he was a little bigger you could consider putting a small rubber band or similar around the base of the yolk sac (like banding calves or goat kids) and hope it would heal up (may just bust the yolk sac!) but that isn't an option on this little guy.
Overall, prognosis depends on the size of the hole, bacterial contamination, whether the guts herniate, and probably a bit of luck! This guy now has a chance but I wouldn't put it over 25%, which is better than 0% but still not spectacular.
