hatched but not absorbing yolk

[Akane]

I have a chick out (hatched on it's own) with some gooey yolk still attached and spread across it's bottom. It's active, peeping, wiggling around but it's been out at least 4hrs now and the yolk is not going down. It's also not fluffing up. I rinsed it with some warm water and used a wet paper towel to wipe it's head and then let it dry again to see if that would help. All it's feathers are still glued down to it's body and it looks wet even though it's dry because it's not fluffy at all. Any suggestions or just leave it in the bator and see what happens? All the rest are in the brooder now and it's crying it's head off in the bator.

 

[jbowyer01]

I dont have any answers but could you put another chick in the bator with it? Just to keep it from being lonely until it either absorbs the rest of the yolk or it fluffs up?

 

[katrinag]

Leave it in the bator. It can take up to 24 hours for all of it to absorbe. If it is the only gut in the bator add a stuffed animal. Keep the humiditly up so the yolk does not dry out. I have had this happen a couple times.

 

[Guinea Goonie]

The chick should have absorbed the yolk before it got all the way out of it's shell. Occasional, as i have been told, a few do not. Keep it in the bator for another 24 hours and if it has not fluffed to a fuzzy butt, then the yolk sac has ruptured and the baby is covered in this. All is not lost, but you should give the baby some water after the 24 hours.

I have never had this problem, unless of course I screwed up and took the chick out too early. I have only heard it from others on this forum and I can not remember who posted.

 

[rhythmicgoldfish]

this happened to me at 11:30 last night by morning the yolk had finished absorbing and dropped of he has fuzz plastered to his body my suggestion is mae the bator as dark as you can (birds generally stop moving if i is dark) and take yourself out for dinner and a movie to distract yourself ... my little guy is fine now

 

[jlbpooh]

We had a little roo last spring that didn't absorb any yolk. We thought he was a goner, but since it was the only one my daughter had gotten to see hatch we worked with him. His yolk sac ruptured about 15 minutes after he hatched because he was dragging it around. We started to see blood so we took some thread and "tied the cord" and then cut it. He was the size of a bottle cap from a bottle of water. He is now almost a year old, his name is PeeWee, and he is just beautiful. He is just a little smaller than his brother, but his mama is smaller too, so that could be it. Once we tied his cord, he started gaining strength pretty quick. He stayed smaller than the other 3 for quite a while.

 

[montbob]

I've got a large batch of rhodies hatching now.One hatched and was out of the egg.Since no other are currently pipping i pulled him out to put in the brooder with another one that hatched this A.M.When I pulled him out his yolk sac was stuck to the egg and pulled off.I didn't know better.Will he make it?

 

[Akane]

Well the yolk dried and was starting to come off. The chick will still moving around some. I gave him some water, rinsed him better under warm water cause he still was not fluffing, and he finally started to fluff. Then I think the power went out last night.

The others are fine because there's 25+ in a small brooder for now but that one was alone in the bator and must have gotten too cold. If I'd put 2 in there I probably would have lost both of them.