Guinea hatched with protruding bulge near/at vent?

[hmlongino]

I've never had guineas before, and we have 6 due to hatch tomorrow. Two are already out... and one of those has two big bulges coming out near the vent area. I haven't opened the bator since there are eggs in there that have pipped, so I have no idea what's going on.

Oh, I'm not sure if it matters, but he/she didn't zip at the right end, it appeared he/she was in there upside down or at least not in a typical position.

Can anyone shed light on this? I'll try to get a picture of it soon.

Thanks!
Holly

 

[PeepsCA]

Quote:
The bulges could be the last of the yolk that the keet is still absorbing, it may have climbed out of the shell a little too soon, before the yolk was fully absorbed... I've seen keets with a bulge before, and they eventually absorbed it and ended up ok. Just keep an eye on it, it should get absorbed within a day if it's going to happen. I don't know if it could have anything to do with zipping out the other end or not, possibly tho... that lil guy might just have been a messed up keet from the get go, what a rough start on life! Did you candle the egg at all during development? Was the air cell at the other end? The bulge issue could also be a permanent hernia type thing that may not go away... again, keep an eye on it, and don't let the other keets start pecking at it. You may need to put it in a separated warm area of your brooder, after it's dry and fluffy if they are pecking at it (make a divider with hardware cloth maybe?). It may or may not be a permanent problem for the keet, and it could even cause the keet to die (just to warn you).

Can you post a pic of it?

 

[hmlongino]

yes. Thanks!

It looks really bad.... but he seems to be acting alright. I just didn't know how bad it was, what it was, or what (if anything) I should do about it!?

I took the other keet out, he was pecking at it. I will separate this one out when more hatch. I am more worried about him living when he shouldn't than him dying because of it! Ugh.

 

[PeepsCA]

Thanks for the pic, Yah, that looks like a little bit of residual yolk still being absorbed to me... kind of like a herniated umbilical cord issue, if it's not coming out of it's vent. If it is coming out it's vent (like a hemorrhoid maybe?), I don't think you can fix that issue and might need to put the keet down. Like I said, keep an eye on it, if it is yolk it should get smaller or completely absorbed within a day. He will fluff out, and it will also dry up, being less noticeable. It will eventually fall off. If you are worried about infection, you could dab it with some diluted peroxide or betadine solution to help dry it out, but I think he'll probably be ok as soon as it dries up. You still might need to separate him for a day or 2 to keep the other keets from pecking at it. If it lasts more than a few days, you could try tying it off as close to his belly as possible with dental floss and then after it dries up more snip the end off with scissors... just be careful if you do. Best of luck with him, he's cute (or she).

 

[hmlongino]

Good news!! I knew the pic would help!

Thanks a bunch!

 

[hmlongino]

Update...

He was worse tonight than before. Way more inside were on the outside. I quickly opened the bator and pulled him out. I realized that a) his feet are curled in and won't spread out and b) his wings are small and misshapen. The sad thing is that his little head and guinea brain seem to be just fine. Sadly, we culled him.

Any ideas on the cause, or was it just a freak thing? One other chick (I put them in a week later) and one guinea from this batch have hatched so far and been fine.

Thanks for your help~
Holly

 

[PeepsCA]

Sorry you had to cull him. Sometimes the feet and leg issues can be corrected with little orthopedic shoes made from tape and a vet wrap or bandaid hobble brace to keep every lined up and straight, and then a little extra care for a few days... but with the bulge issue getting worse it sounds like you did the right thing. It's hard to imagine that the 4 hours of power outage could cause so many issues for 4 other eggs, but you never know. Do you know if the breeding flock that the eggs came from were excessively inbred over the years? That can cause problems as well (genetic flaws). Even with perfect incubator conditions and unrelated adults in my breeding flocks, I still have the occasional keet hatch with some issues going on. Whatever the problems with your batch of eggs were, it definitely turned out to be a bummer. Putting keets down is not fun, I do not envy you that task.
Hope your early keet is doing well with your chicks.