What is this?

[Iva S.]

What is this thing on my chick? And what can I do to fix it?

 

[azygous]

That appears to be the umbilicus. Don't mess with it beyond maybe dabbing a bit of coconut oil on it. Pulling on it or causing it to fall off can result in infection or worse, pulling the intestine out.

 

[Iva S.]

That appears to be the umbilicus. Don't mess with it beyond maybe dabbing a bit of coconut oil on it. Pulling on it or causing it to fall off can result in infection or worse, pulling the intestine out.

Will it go away on its own or is there something I can do to help?

 

[rebrascora]

I can't even tell what part of the chick we are looking at??

 

[Iva S.]

I can't even tell what part of the chick we are looking at??

Is this better?

 

[rebrascora]

Yes, now I can identify it as the umbilicus too. Essentially it is a scab that you do not want to pick. Keep it clean and softened with antiseptic cream or coconut oil as has been suggested and once it has healed underneath, the scab will just drop off. Make sure other chicks do not peck at it.

 

[chickens really]

Do not soften that at all...It needs to dry up and fall off...Rubbing alcohol with a Q-Tip like with human babies is fine...You do not want bacteria in that..That's it's unbiblical ..

 

[azygous]

As @rebrascora mentioned, keep an eye on the chicks, and this one in particular, to make sure the other chicks don't peck it. That could be disastrous for this chick. It should fall off over the next couple days.