Yolk sac not absorbed

[Poppylu]

Chicken friends, we are seeking advice and moral support! Yesterday was hatch day only we already knew we may be in for disappointment. We had a dozen chicken eggs shipped USPS and the breeder did an awesome job of packing and labeling the box. However the box was damaged and came off the truck extremely hot. Long story short, eggs were damaged and had loose air cells etc. Only three made it to day 14 and on day 22 we can confirm they were all malpositioned. ( We did rest them fat end up for 24 hrs and everything right but the damage was done). One developed chick had it's aircell on the side and had suffocated before we tried assisting the hatch. The yolk was even 99% absorbed so this is pretty heartbreaking. The next one was deformed and would never had made it. The third chick actually pipped right on time yesterday morning but failed to make any progress all day. This morning, around 26 hours after external pip we started to assist. We used the threads on this site for advice as we have done before, with success, and our one baby has pushed itself out after we slowly zipped the egg for it. However! There is some of the yolk sac unabsorbed. It's about the size of a pea. We put it's rear end back in the shell and it is just sitting in the incubator, quietly chirping and looking very tired. We know it is touch and go but if anyone has further advice we'd appreciate it. We are also aware that chicks need a flock, so that will be the next issue to address if our wee one pulls through. (We have some 4month old chickens we were planning to integrate this lot with later in the year.) We know it happens a lot but we're feeling so angry and sad about the carelessness of USPS. We should just observe this one for now, right?

 

[Poppylu]

We're still learning to find our way around this site. Is this post in the right place?

 

[jvls1942]

what's done is done.
all you should do is wait.
the chick is not going to go running around until tomorrow.
put some water in a very shallow pan and some feed in another.
don't expect it to eat or drink, but if it chooses to, it is there.
cover most of the pan and leave just enough space for it to get it's face into.
we don't want a waterlogged chick, do we ?
I have seen larger unabsorbed yolk sacs than that one. just let it absorb naturally.
do not set the chick on anything absorbent, like paper towels , rags etc. the yolk sac will stick to it and almost certainly end in death.

tomorrow, if the chick hasn't drank, just dip it's beak into the water and set him close to the water. he will eventually figure it out.

you do not need a flock to raise one chick.
just raise it and let it bond to you.

 

[Poppylu]

what's done is done.
all you should do is wait.
the chick is not going to go running around until tomorrow.
put some water in a very shallow pan and some feed in another.
don't expect it to eat or drink, but if it chooses to, it is there.
cover most of the pan and leave just enough space for it to get it's face into.
we don't want a waterlogged chick, do we ?
I have seen larger unabsorbed yolk sacs than that one. just let it absorb naturally.
do not set the chick on anything absorbent, like paper towels , rags etc. the yolk sac will stick to it and almost certainly end in death.

tomorrow, if the chick hasn't drank, just dip it's beak into the water and set him close to the water. he will eventually figure it out.

you do not need a flock to raise one chick.
just raise it and let it bond to you.

Thank you so much for this advice. She's still
here and we are being very patient! The yolk is the same size... If she pulls thru she will be loved like crazy so we are very grateful to hear you think she will be OK with enough human attention. Then when big enough she will be integrated with our 5 month olds. How long do you think the absorption will take?

 

[jvls1942]

probably a day or two.

 

[Poppylu]

probably a day or two.

So we're keeping her in the incubator. The humidity is still high. Should it stay high? Also she has not fluffed up at all. It looks more like the fluff is gelled down than actually wet.

 

[jvls1942]

can she stand and walk ?
if so, then don't worry about the matted look.
after a day or so, and the yolk is absorbed,
you can give her a gentle warm hand bath.
avoid the area of the yolk sac.
plain water, no soap.
vegetable oil can be used also.
.......jiminwisc......

 

[Poppylu]

This morning she was hobbling around on splayed legs and toes curled. We have made a hobble and taped her toes and she's sitting in a donut. She is pecking at things but no food has gone down. She has had a tiny bit of water. There is still a bulge on her navel, not much smaller than yesterday, say the size of a"baby pea". Clearly she has problems but is fairly perky. Time will tell. Thank you for the support!