I’ve been away for quite a while it seems, but I still have pictures and stories of these broody babies.
During a quick necropsy of the little chick that suffered a blunt force trauma death, I learned something new. Curiosity forces me to look at most and I’m glad I looked this particular time. When looking at the intestines of the chick I saw a strange little nub attached to it. I had to start researching what it could be. I had never seen this before.
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The internet can be a wonderful thing. I found this particular site to be very informative. https://poultry.extension.org/articles/poultry-anatomy/avian-digestive-system/
This little nub, as I called it, turned out to be the Meckel’s Diverticulum, and come to find out has a very important job. This is quoted from the website mentioned above.
The Meckel’s diverticulum is formed during a chicken’s embryonic stage. In the egg, the yolk sac supplies the nutrients needed for the embryo to develop and grow. Right before hatch, the yolk sac is taken into the navel cavity of the embryo. The residual tiny sac is the Meckel’s diverticulum.
This is for any curious minded folks such as myself!