tiny chick with cord still attached (updated)

[flocksalot]

I would take a picture of this sad little thing, but I have no idea where my camera is at the moment. We moved and I can't find most of my stuff as it's in the lost between place. Anyway we just got our last batch of chicks for the year ( or that's what I told my husband little does he know we have a broody sitting on plastic eggs until I collect enough of the ones I want her to hatch) and we have a tiny puffy cheeked little girl with an umbilical cord still attached and she looks like she was put into the box wet. Her fuzz is all matted and funky like when they first start to dry out after their hatch. I've actually never seen one with the umbilical cord still attached, but surmised that's what it was. These and all the egg layers on our farm are our 7 year old sons, so the first thing I did was show him the chick and let him know that it may not make it. Of course we had to take her home as the other 34 chicks were running over her and pushing her into the water, so now I have a little boy that just fell asleep after his Shera finally took a few nibbles. Of course she nibbles but looses her balance as she goes. Her head is bigger that the whole rest of her body. She looks as if she didn't get the yolk absorbed. I was just wondering how common this is as I've never seen it before and after calling my chicken expert also known as Mom I was told she had never seen it either. At 600+ meat birds a year that's a lot of chicks that we've been through without seeing it. We currently have 100+ egg layers and not a single cord was seen on them either. My 28 year old son says it's that cord that I keep trying to reattach onto him and it got misplaced. Now I get to stay up with a little one trying to keep it going. For my son I hope she makes it as he loves his birds. She will get spoiled rotten and think she can do whatever she wants just like the rest of them. They are funny to watch with him.

 

[DancingHen]

If it is the umbilical cord it will dry up and fall off on its own. I just had a chick hatch yesterday with its cord and yolk sac still attached, and today it has fallen off and the chick is fine. If your chick eating, drinking, pooping and moving around normally? I suggest that you just keep her warm and safe from any other chicks pecking at her cord until it falls off. Good luck.

 

[flocksalot]

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We have her at home with us while the others are out at the farm in their brooder. She has made it through the night and seems to think that I am mommy now. She is still very unsteady, but some of that is to do with having such a tiny body compared to her head. She isn't a cute fluffy butt as she is all head. I'm amazed that we were able to get her this far, but we still have a long road ahead with her. She seems to have such a hard time just trying to peck at things as she looses her balance so quickly, but this morning she took some drinks on her own without me poping her beak into the water. Maybe she thinks that's what she should do everytime I peek in. Man I wish I could find my camera. I've just never seen a chick with such a tiny body and such a hugh head. Well we will see how things go today. We have to head back out to the farm this morning to get some of my fatties butchered, so she will be going out with. Alex is very good about keeping an eye on the little ones, but I don't want her going back in there. I guess I will have to set up another brooder just for her. Last night we kept her in the shipping box on a heating pad under a light. I hope the little squirt makes it now that I've invested so much into her that I'm attached. Ah such is life.

 

[groundpecker]

Do not pull or remove it, you can damage or kill your chick. It will fall off on its own. I hope this helps.

 

[flocksalot]

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Wouldn't even think of trying to remove it. We put her back in with her siblings and even though she still is very wobbly she is learning to eat with them. She has gotten her cord pecked and grabbed, but she is just so tiny that she falls over as soon as it is grabbed. We have only seen that happen a couple of times, so for now I think that is the best place for her. One thing I have noticed is that her head is like three times the size of all the other chicks, but her body is about 1/3 the size of the others. Can't say I've ever seen that either, but she seems to be improving so we will be keeping our fingers crossed for her. My son is hoping she makes it, and would like her to become a house chicken. I have 6 parrots of varying size, so that may be an option. Can't wait til my husband realizes there a non sick chicken in the house. That should be pretty funny. On second thought it's only fun to push his buttons when he won't go apocolyptic. Funny to think about though. He hates our chickens. Of course he hates anything that my son and I do together as it kind of excludes him. Poor baby.

 

[flocksalot]

Just thought I would update on the tiny girl. She is still doing OK. Not spectacular, but she has a long way to go to catch up with her siblings. She is getting around a bit better. Still wobbly and rocking onto her toes and standing like a balarina to stop from falling, but she is holding her own. We were watching her before we came home tonight and she was pecking at a Silver Spangled Hamburg. Her body was only half the size of the Hamburgs, and Hamburgs are small. Yet her head was about twice the size of the Hamburgs body. Her fuzz is still kind of matty looking and she looks like her butt got cut off at the leg. She doesn't have a cute little fuzzy butt. She finally did get a little feather on her wing tip. All the other chicks usually have them right away, but she only had fuzz. Tonight we noticed that she has a bit of feather sticking out at the tip. I'm curious if maybe her hatch was hassend maybe. I really wish I had my camera because I've just never seen anything like her. I'm pretty sure she is an Auracana. We left her with her siblings as they appear to be doing wonderful with her, so tonight I actually get to sleep. Yeah!

 

[cochinGurl]

if shes not eating food herself, make a thin grool shoothie for her and dip her beak into it. she sould drink some, so she''ll get some quick energy. I had a chick similer to this about two months back.last egg to hatch. i think got kicked into the wall by mom and thats when it cracked open. from there, the other (much older) chicks pecked at the little face and wing peeking out. i had to get the poor dear out quick because of the blood loss. she was about a third of her was yolk. here is a link to the posts about it, a lot of is was very helpful to me, and hopefully to you aswell. for the record, mine did pull through! theres realy good info on here https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=496256&p=5
good luck with you chick!

 

[aabbott]

I have a batch of chicks that have just hatched and noticed when I moved some to a brooder box that one of the chicks has 2 bulbous forms on its backside- Will this hurt the chicken as it grows? or will is minimize~

 

[flocksalot]

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Awesome! I'll check it out. She seems to be doing very well. She still is tipping up onto her "tiny toes" as my son calls them, but she is just so top heavy. She eats, drinks, runs around and generally is acting more and more like a healthier chick. She still sleeps plenty more than the others, but at this age they are in mid run, eat, drink, stretch, or play when they fall over asleep. The cord is still attached and we do see some chicks pick at it, but she doesn't seem to mind and has been picking at it herself. Her matty looking fuzz it starting to fluff up a bit, but all that really does is make her look like her head is even bigger. I'm so glad we brought her home for that first night. She would not have made it. The other chicks were knbocking her in the water and stepping on her after they knocked her down. She had no strenght at all to get back up. Though I am still exhausted from lack of sleep. My husband wanted me to take pictures of the home building process and I had to remind him that his sister packed away some of our stuff and it's in limbo somewheres. But a camera would show what is just so hard to explain. Thanks again.

 

[flocksalot]

Well I just thought I would post an update. Our tiny girl isn't so tiny anymore. She is larger than most of her Auracana siblings; however she is still way behind in feather development. She looks like a hugh week old chick. Where her siblings have most of their feathers she still has much fuzz, but that's not holding her back in anyway. What feathers she does have are a beautiful reddish chocolate brown. I think she is going to be the prettiest one of the bunch! It definantely was worth the lost sleep to see her zipping around acting like a happy healthy chick.