I'm so sorry I was hoping he'd beat the odds... Sometimes we beat mother nature and sometimes she beats us. All we can do is try our best, and you did.
That's interesting! I wish I knew of that when I was dealing with my first preemie. I kept her in half a shell all night while she was absorbing. Didn't get much sleep that night.
I'm glad to hear he's making progress. Fingers crossed it will continue! What you can also do (if he refuses to eat) is mix a raw egg yolk with a spoonful of water and let him drink that. Yolk is good food for new chicks.
I would dilute it a little bit. Have you offered it food? I sprinkle food in front of the chicks and keep picking it up and dropping it, to get them interested. Also tap the food with your finger to "show" it where it is. Normally the yolk absorbed pre-hatch would be enough to keep them going...
What does the instructions on the package say? The ratio I have handy says mix 1 cup electrolyte solution to a gallon water. You'll have divide that into smaller measures! What is that navel looking like now?
O.K. my friend got back to me. She advices dabbing some iodine on the protrusion and give the chicks some electrolytes. It's touch and go with these little ones, but I've seen them survive, so The most important thing is hygiene. Treat that whole navel area like a wound. Clean, sterile things...
That fluid may simply have been a poop. I have seen similar poops as you described from small chicks.
The protrusion, I've blown the pic up and it looks to me like you may have an unabsorbed yolk sac there. There are two things you can do with that. Either leave it a bit longer and see if the...
Sometimes when chicks hatch they'll have a little gunk attached to their navels with will fall off by itself within a few hours. It would help if you can post a pic of what you are seeing, but I'm guessing that is what's happening here.