Wow I feel so dumb...

[melishkia]

I just hatched two beautiful healthy baby chicks yesterday, my first time!

Today I was checking them out for any pasty butt to find what appeared as "poo" stuck to one of the chicks. I soaked it for like 30 mins with no success, kind of pinched it a bit to see if it was softening, rubbed it, trying really hard to gently get it off. It looks like it was tearing skin so I stopped, consulted my friend who hatched to then say it's the umbilical cord ((I can't believe I didn't know they had one, I even questioned that during my 30 min soak)) I really hope I didn't just injure my chick, do you think it will be ok? I dried it really well and it's in there pecking away with its friend- ugh I'm so upset with myself cause I just had a baby, I know all about umbilical cords and infections.

 

[DwayneNLiz]

I just hatched two beautiful healthy baby chicks yesterday, my first time!

Today I was checking them out for any pasty butt to find what appeared as "poo" stuck to one of the chicks. I soaked it for like 30 mins with no success, kind of pinched it a bit to see if it was softening, rubbed it, trying really hard to gently get it off. It looks like it was tearing skin so I stopped, consulted my friend who hatched to then say it's the umbilical cord ((I can't believe I didn't know they had one, I even questioned that during my 30 min soak)) I really hope I didn't just injure my chick, do you think it will be ok? I dried it really well and it's in there pecking away with its friend- ugh I'm so upset with myself cause I just had a baby, I know all about umbilical cords and infections.

put bacitracin or neosporin on it, maybe even a bandaid
so long as you didnt pullout its intestines it *should* be fine

 

[melishkia]

the edge looks like when you try to pull a scab off too early. I didn't pull too hard because of that. I was afraid to put neosporin and have it stick or cause anything else to stick. Do you think that's a concern?

 

[DwayneNLiz]

the edge looks like when you try to pull a scab off too early. I didn't pull too hard because of that. I was afraid to put neosporin and have it stick or cause anything else to stick. Do you think that's a concern?

nope, hence the bandaid, use one of those little round bandaids and neosoporin

u dont want it pecked at, and you dont want poop getting in it

 

[FoodFreedomNow]

I just hatched two beautiful healthy baby chicks yesterday, my first time!

Today I was checking them out for any pasty butt to find what appeared as "poo" stuck to one of the chicks. I soaked it for like 30 mins with no success, kind of pinched it a bit to see if it was softening, rubbed it, trying really hard to gently get it off. It looks like it was tearing skin so I stopped, consulted my friend who hatched to then say it's the umbilical cord ((I can't believe I didn't know they had one, I even questioned that during my 30 min soak)) I really hope I didn't just injure my chick, do you think it will be ok? I dried it really well and it's in there pecking away with its friend- ugh I'm so upset with myself cause I just had a baby, I know all about umbilical cords and infections.

Congratulations on your new chicks! I've hatched more than a few, and it's exciting (and a little nerve-wracking) each time.

Like @DwayneNLiz said, your chick will probably be fine. Antibiotic ointment without pain reliever should help prevent infection, or you could spray with a wound healing spray like Vetericyn; I personally like Vetericyn because it's non-toxic and doesn't contain antibiotics so is a good first line of defense against infection.

There's always something to learn with anything new - hatching chicks is no different, so don't be too hard on yourself. The BYC Learning Center has great educational resources: https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/hatching-eggs-and-raising-chicks, and hanging out in the forums is also a good way to find out about (and be prepared for) some of the weird and unexpected things that can occur.

 

[melishkia]

Thank you for the support, Ialso added organic ACV to their water, they are up and happy! Before I started trying to dislodge the umbilical cord, I searched all over BYC and looked at the hatching 101 etc tabs but nothing talks about an umbilical cord. I think it would be nice if it did include it unless I really overlooked it, I was really trying to find what pasty butt looked like.

 

[DwayneNLiz]

Thank you for the support, Ialso added organic ACV to their water, they are up and happy! Before I started trying to dislodge the umbilical cord, I searched all over BYC and looked at the hatching 101 etc tabs but nothing talks about an umbilical cord. I think it would be nice if it did include it unless I really overlooked it, I was really trying to find what pasty butt looked like.

Once at a real computer I can find you links, but if you want to peruse there is a link in my signature (which you can't see when mobile) called incu notes that will bring you to a page filled with lots of things to learn about

 

[melishkia]

Thank you for the help everyone,

little one wasn't even phased by it and they are getting bigger already!

I freaked out for nothing I think...