Chick died, had a huge black lump near its vent?

[HeatherLynn]

Ok well this is more to find out what the heck went wrong and if maybe I should never take the chance of breeding the chicks daddy again.

Ok 8 week old, maran mix. Started out the same size as everyone else. At the time of death it was only slightly larger than it was at hatching and its hatch mates were at least 3 times or more its size. I posted several times and with the information I got I decided as long as it was eating and drinking it was small but fine. Was very active, never sick. Yesterday it was acting a bit off. This morning it was on its side dying. It had a HUGE black knot below its vent that I know was not there before. I hold the chick alot hoping to make it a pet since its so small and the lump was not there until yesterday or at least not where I could feel it. Could its not growing be linked to this lump. Possibly genetic issues or hatching issue? If I think its genetic I will probably elect not to hatch my own again to avoid it. Its been a long 8 weeks and a very sad ending.

 

[CMV]

If you had other chicks from the same lines that had no issues then I would just assume that your poor baby had failure to thrive. Sometimes that just happens for no rhyme or reason. It could have been an internal defect that just took a while to manifest to its full extent. Unfortunately, there was probably nothing you could have done any differently with this chick. Failure to thrive chicks usually cannot be saved. You can put off the inevitable for some time with TLC, but eventually their problems catch up with them and they die. The hardest part is that these are the chicks everyone roots for, wants to save and becomes a favorite pet because of all the special attention they get. It's heartbreaking.

Please don't stop hatching because of this one tragic case. It's a bummer, but it happens. You did all you could, so be happy you made his short life as good as it could be. Nothing to feel discouraged about. You should feel happy that you were able to do the best you could do by him. No one can stop Death when he comes knocking.

Sorry for your loss and good luck in the future.