Anyone who hatches eggs will eventually be faced with a chick that hatches with a protruded yolk. My thinking is the chick has hatched early before the yolk could me fully absorbed. I've read many articles on this subject who advise a wide range of treatments that vary from 'just let nature take it's course' to 'cut it off with a pair of scissors'. I've never gone to the extreme of trying to cut it off, using common sense, to me, that just seems wrong. I have tried to let nature take it's course with out much luck.
Through trail and error I think I have come up with a way the saves the chick more time then not and is closer to natural hatching for the chick then just letting it lay in the bottom of the incubator. What I've come up with is this.
I raise the humidity in the incubator to 55%. In this way the protruded yolk doesn't dry out too fast. I then take a small bowl and line it with a soft paper towel. I roll the chick as if it were still in it's egg and place it in the bowl. I believe in this way the chick, feeling the paper towel around it, feels secure as if it were still in the egg. Certainly more comfortable then just laying in the bottom letting nature take it's course. I keep a close eye in the chick.
This method seems to work more times then not. Here are some pic's of a duckling who hatched early and had a marble sized yolk sack on it's abdomen. 1st pic is day one. A couple hours after the hatch. 2nd pic day 2. Nice and dry and seems to be comfortable. 3rd pic day 3, 8 in the morning. The duckling had re-hatched and was moving around the bottom of the incubator. The yolk sack had either absorbed or dried out and was falling off. 4th pic day 3 around noon. In with the other ducklings.
I was so glad that I was able to save this duckling. The prayers I prayed didn't hurt either. Never under estimate the power of prayer. Even for a little chick or a duckling. Thank you Lord for helping save this little duck.
If you are face with a protruding yolk, give my method a try. Let others know how it worked for you.
God Bless You,
Rick
Through trail and error I think I have come up with a way the saves the chick more time then not and is closer to natural hatching for the chick then just letting it lay in the bottom of the incubator. What I've come up with is this.
I raise the humidity in the incubator to 55%. In this way the protruded yolk doesn't dry out too fast. I then take a small bowl and line it with a soft paper towel. I roll the chick as if it were still in it's egg and place it in the bowl. I believe in this way the chick, feeling the paper towel around it, feels secure as if it were still in the egg. Certainly more comfortable then just laying in the bottom letting nature take it's course. I keep a close eye in the chick.
This method seems to work more times then not. Here are some pic's of a duckling who hatched early and had a marble sized yolk sack on it's abdomen. 1st pic is day one. A couple hours after the hatch. 2nd pic day 2. Nice and dry and seems to be comfortable. 3rd pic day 3, 8 in the morning. The duckling had re-hatched and was moving around the bottom of the incubator. The yolk sack had either absorbed or dried out and was falling off. 4th pic day 3 around noon. In with the other ducklings.
I was so glad that I was able to save this duckling. The prayers I prayed didn't hurt either. Never under estimate the power of prayer. Even for a little chick or a duckling. Thank you Lord for helping save this little duck.
If you are face with a protruding yolk, give my method a try. Let others know how it worked for you.
God Bless You,
Rick