Duckling stuck, cut it or no?

[farmingchic]

This duckling apparently hatched a bit early. I noticed what looked like the yolk sac that was still absorbing. So I wrapped it in a wet warm cloth & placed it against the side where it’d be less likely for it to kick the rest of the egg shell off, in hopes that it would continue to absorb the yolk sac. It has kicked its legs free of the shell but is still connected by this strand of something. Do I leave it be or cut it loose? It’s been laying connected to its shell like this for 15 hours. I tried to get a pic, but not sure it’s worth anything, as it’s hard to tell what is what.

 

[2 many chickens]

Honestly I would cut it off from the shell. Just a small snip. Don't cut anywhere else, though.

 

[2 many chickens]

Wait, is that huge yellow the yolk?? I can't tell. Is a small string still attaching it to the shell?

 

[MillersFarm]

Definitely don't cut it, Wait for it to dry and fall off,
Get the wet towel off the duckling, Don't want to chill it while it's still in the incubator. Can you get a picture of the entire duckling?

 

[Kris5902]

How early is it hatching? When are they due? Did it get that far on its own?

 

[farmingchic]

Wait, is that huge yellow the yolk?? I can't tell. Is a small string still attaching it to the shell?

That yellow is dried up, so if it was yolk, it’s no good now. The thing attaching it to the shell is rather thick and appears to be bloody. It almost looks to me like it’s trying to pull the umbilical area back out.

 

[2 many chickens]

Definitely don't cut it, Wait for it to dry and fall off,
Get the wet towel off the duckling, Don't want to chill it while it's still in the incubator. Can you get a picture of the entire duckling?

The thing that always worries me is what if the duck/chick tries to get up and drags/rips the string that's still attached causing it to bleed? I can't really tell what is going on by her/his pictures. It's too dark to really see.

 

[farmingchic]

How early is it hatching? When are they due? Did it get that far on its own?

Actually it’s late, I just assumed it wasn’t ready judging by the yolk sac. They were supposed to hatch on Monday. The other hatched Wednesday & is doing well. This one hatched last night after being piped for 3 days.

 

[MillersFarm]

The thing that always worries me is what if the duck/chick tries to get up and drags/rips the string that's still attached causing it to bleed? I can't really tell what is going on by her/his pictures. It's too dark to really see.

That is very true, I'd be worried about cutting the umbilical cord and having it bleed out..

The yellow-ish sack you're seeing is probably the 'poop' sack. Yolk looks to be absorbed, If you feel like it's the best thing to do you can probably go ahead and carefully snip away at the cord, But if it were me i'd wait and see what happens

 

[farmingchic]

Actually I thought it was more connected to the shell, but when I tried to get a better picture the shell came off. It looks like this now. Is there something I should do for it?