help! yolk sac or hernia?

[hfchristy]

Can anyone help me figure out whether this is a yolk sac that will just continue to absorb on its own, or an external hernia to be concerned about? If it's a hernia, is there anything to be done about it?

Mama duck abandoned her own nest when her daughter's eggs hatched and we weren't set up to incubate, so it's amazing that our cobbled together heat packs and damp rags got any of the eggs to hatch at all, and birth defect of some type seems pretty likely. She was pipped for a couple of days, so I did assist when it looked like she was getting shrink wrapped, but there was no bleeding and I left the majority of the shell. She was chirping quite a bit earlier, but not since coming out of the shell. I'm hoping that she's just exhausted and will perk up after a rest. It's been a couple of hours.
Everything looks a bit yellow in the picture, but the light colored part is actually completely white. She was on a gray washcloth, and I thought it was fuzz from that, but seeing it close up in the picture, it looks more like it's dried out.

Thoughts?

 

[ChickNanny13]

Repost in the Incubating & Hatching forum, may get faster response.

@WVduckchick @oldhenlikesdogs @casportpony
Thank you in advance

 

[WVduckchick]

Since it just hatched and was assisted, give it a few hours, it should draw in.
Keep her on something soft, clean and dry where she can’t cause it any harm (rupture, away from others, infection, etc)

 

[hfchristy]

Since it just hatched and was assisted, give it a few hours, it should draw in.
Keep her on something soft, clean and dry where she can’t cause it any harm (rupture, away from others, infection, etc)

So you think it's a yolk sac? I wasn't sure if that was even what it was since the pictures I've found of yolk sacs were all so floppy looking and this one seems pretty solid. Or are you saying that a hernia is likely to get sucked back in, too?

 

[hfchristy]

well, it's irrelevant now.
After I posted earlier, her breathing got clicky and when I looked in on her just now, she had given up.
In hindsight, it had been clicky while trying to hatch, but I thought it was just a piece of shell. Strangely, it had stopped all afternoon, but when it came back it hit hard.

 

[FarmerGirl101]

Any updates?

 

[hfchristy]

sadly, yes. The yolk sac and/or hernia ended up being the least of her troubles.
Her breathing got clicky, then cleared up for a good hour, thought she might make it - but the last time I went in to check, she was gone.

 

[FarmerGirl101]

Aww. If you feel okay with it try and perform an at home autopsy and see what happened. Again you don't have to do this but I would be really interested in what happened.

 

[ChickNanny13]

 

[WVduckchick]

So sorry for your loss. I honestly couldn’t tell much from the pic, but usually my ducklings that hatch a bit distended will clear up very quickly. I’m sorry she didn’t make it.