Yolk sac outside new keet

[TarheelBirdy]

I hatched four keets today. One has the yolk sac outside, hanging off his belly. It's the size of a large pea and is yellow, with some blood vessels visible in the membrane. The keet is laying on its side and active and peeping. It's been about seven hours since he hatched. The other three keets are fine.

What causes this? Will it live? And should I do anything?

 

[perchie.girl]

Probably not. The yolk is supposed to be absorbed during the pipping and zipping phase of hatching. I Hope someone experience with lots of hatching will see the post.... I have an incubator but have never fired it up.

 

[MuranoFarms]

For whatever reason it didn't absorb yet. Here's what could happen: it might still absorb the yolk, OR it might stay there and dry up, then fall off in a few days...OR the keet might not make it.
It's a watch and see situation....if you want to put it down, it's up to you but I would give it a few days and see if it does ok. If it's eating and drinking, it could be just fine (have a peep right now this just happened to) I would keep it in the incubator for a day....the high moisture will keep it from drying out quickly.
Good luck!

 

[PeepsCA]

Did this keet hatch on it's own, or did you have to help it? If you had to help it I'd guess that it had development or genetic issues during incubation and wasn't going to hatch on it's own anyway...

If it did hatch on it's own then it could be due to incubator temp fluctuations (like dropping way down at night possibly), or from it being off a degree or more during the entire incubation period. You may want to calibrate your thermometers just to double check.

 

[TarheelBirdy]

He is hanging in there, but has never stood up, and is weak :_ I feel so helpless.

I didn't help him hatch, but he did take forever to hatch, it seemed. And yes, my LG incubator fluctuated - much more than ever before. It was so frustrating. After this season, if we decide to incubate them again, we have already decided to get something more reliable.

Three beautiful, healthy fluffy ones in the brooder box, two more to hatch, and then our bator is empty!

 

[cracking up]

Have you tried feeding it poly vi sol - no iron? pedialite or gatoraide? Yogurt? I usually try everything to give it some strength. Then it's just wait and see.

 

[PeepsCA]

Sorry you are struggling with another keet, dang incubator anyway

(Hovabator Genesis 1588's are great little table top incubators, really stable with a preset temp control and fan in them already. They hold the humidity great too... and occasionally you can find them on sale, online).

 

[TarheelBirdy]

Well, he didn't make it - I had given him some Pedialyte and some egg yolk, which he was eating, but was getting weaker. I was standing there talking to my husband about what I should do, and he took his last little breath while we were watching. Sad, but a little bit of a relief, it's terrible to watch one suffer while the other three fluffy boogers are in their box jumping and running around. Thanks for the comments and thoughts.

 

[perchie.girl]

Quote:

you did your best.