umbilical cord/yolk sac

asherjasper

In the Brooder
9 Years
Jul 20, 2010
14
0
22
one of my chicks that hatched this morning has something trailing behind it. I don't think it's an umbilical cord, it's thicker and kind of membraney looking. It's poop is getting caught in it and the other chicks are pecking at it. Should I take him out and quarantine him until it falls off on its own. Should I clean off the poop?
It's very loud and full of energy, although it's having a bit of difficulty finding its feet.
Thanks
 
I don't know the technical name for it, but I believe it may be the remnants of those clear, stringy things you see in the eggwhites when you crack an egg. They sort of position the yolk in the egg, and later, the veins and arteries that grow out into the shell membrane go through there, and then dry up. But don't quote me on that, I'm not positive.

I think after a few hours after hatching, this should be dead tissue, and you can probably safely snip the majority of it off close to the navel. What I've done before is tie it off with a little tiny piece of clean cotton thread about 1/3 to 1/2 inch out from the navel, just to be on the safe side so it doesn't bleed if there are still some live veins in there, snip if off beyond the thread, and dust the entire area with styptic powder (to dry the rest of it up) and tetracycline powder (antibiotic to prevent infection). The rest will fall off shortly.
 
Thank you. It seems to be drying up pretty well on its own. But I will snip it tomorrow of it's still attached.
 
If the other chicks are pecking at it then I would seperate the chick. I had one that had a little something hanging out and the other chicks pecked at it and the next thing I saw all its insides were hanging out.
 

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