first ever chicks and i need help

[Paully3]

We just had our broody hatch our first clutch of eggs and we noticed something very odd...please tell me what the is and what to do about it...

 

[HardizzlesFlock]

That is a yolk sack. If you can, put it somewhere warm and undisturbed and It should absorb it the rest of the way. GOOD LUCK!

 

[Paully3]

How long does usually take and what chance does she have of surviving?

 

[Paully3]

Should I put her back under my broody or will the other chicks peck at it?

 

[HardizzlesFlock]

As long as it stays warm and safe it's chances are pretty good

 

[Paully3]

It kept trying to walk around and it was dragging it. It looked like it was pulling some other things out of the poor thing...I tried to hold it and kept it under a light to calm it down but it wouldn't stop trying to move around. It looked like the sac broke some because there was blood on the bottom of the plastic bin I had it in. I had it under the heat lamp and it just kept getting weaker and weaker. Finally it just stopped fighting and slipped away. I'm major bummed out...I don't know what else I could have done.

 

[Dustieburk]

One of my chicks had the same and i was cleaning it then it opened up and it drained , then she was fine .

 

[Dustieburk]

Oh i am so sorry but it happens . At least it is out of pain .

 

[KristiLG]

There is nothing else you could have done, sometimes nature can be cruel. When the yolk sac is not absorbed before they break free from the shell it usually causes problems. It is attached to the innards of the chick, so it is like having an open bellybutton. I am sorry for your loss, it is always hard when the little ones don't make it. Unfortunately that is part of natural selection. Even after 10 yrs of owning chickens and having hatched eggs many different ways it still makes me sad when I lose them. Enjoy the fuzz butts that made it and handle them lots!