I pulled what looked like a black hair from a chicken's rear...

[mhhousley]

Okay, weird question but maybe its common so I don't know. I'm going to ask..

The 1st day my chicks arrived in the mail they were all peeping and adapting to their brooder well. Eating and drinking. I kept noticing one of them looked like it had a really big black hair stuck to it. I initially thought it was just something stuck to it from it's litter it arrived in. I picked it up gently pulling on it expecting it to just break loose from the fluff. Instead a little bit of mucus, blood, and tissue came out of the end of it when I pulled it out. The chick didn't seem to notice and has been fine since (7 or so days now) but I am just curious what that could have been?

 

[SteveBaz]

it eat a human hair not uncommon and pooped it out

 

[mhhousley]

Quote:
That's possible but not to be too graphic or anything it was a rather long 3-4 inch looking pubic hair. But it really didn't look so much as a hair as it did a string, kinda. But maybe thats what it was. The thing is... it didn't seem to be sticking out of its butt so much as it looked like it was sort of on its back-right side of it's butt (tail) and the mystery was the mucous, blood, and a little bit of tissue at the end that came out.

 

[dbcooper02]

Sounds more like the umbilical cord. They usually drop off on their own. I clip them off If I see them. Pulling them can cause internal damage. I think you got lucky.

 

[rpchris]

Quote:
X2

 

[mhhousley]

Oops, you live you learn. Hopefully it was about to fall off on it's own and I did get lucky!