Umbilical cord question

[Bananas]

I have just had my first hatch. Only got two chicks out of 10 eggs, and there's one who's pipped now but she's 2 days late so we'll see if she gets out ok.
I found out my thermometer was off (roughly 2 degrees cool), so I consider myself lucky to have had a hatch at all...

Both my birds seemed to have a real struggle with the umbilical cord/yolk sac remnant thing that was attaching them to the egg. Is this normal? They both were attached for a very long time and struggling against the cord to the point that I was seriously concerned they were going to damage something internal by pulling against the cord so much. Eventually they both got themselves free, but I was scared the whole time they were going to hurt themselves.

I am wondering if this is normal, or is this a result of the cool temperatures? They seemed to have absorbed the yolks themselves, but still had the remnants of the sacs attached. In all my reading on hatching, nothing ever mentioned this being normal, and I was curious.

Thanks for any advice/comments you can give.

 

[One Acre Wonder Farm]

It is certainly not ideal but as long as the chicks are eating and drinking well and are active then the remains of the sac should dry up and fall off in a few days.

Enjoy your chickies!

 

[FenDruadin]

Probably the cool temps, or low humidity (which can result from cool temps--cooler air doesn't hold humidity as well). Either way, it's only a minor concern. If they're dragging the yolk & shell behind them, it can be a good idea to clip the umbilical cord with VERY SHARP scissors to remove the weight, but only if you're sure there's no blood pumping through there.

I had two out of three hatch out with umbilical cords attached (humidity issues). Both were fine, although one died at a week old, but I don't think it was related. The other is 2 1/2 weeks old now and BIG and active and healthy.

I'm glad you got something out of the hatch, and I'm sorry you had to find out the hard way about your thermometer.

I was just lucky--the one that came with the incubator is accurate. But my humidity was all wrong, and that was my fault. I'll do better this time (I've got 13 eggs in there now).

Good luck with them and with your next hatch!

 

[barnyardbonanza]

I would be concerned about bacteria entering via the cord. I hatched some last month and the two chicks that dragging a cord behind them ended up dying. Next time it happens I will do the same thing as we do with baby goats (kids) right after birth. We get a film canister, you know the littke black ones with grey lids (could be different colors though) and we fill it with iodine and dip the cord in it right after birth. Won't hurt to try!