Chick hatched with lump on abdomen

Superjaxster

In the Brooder
Oct 19, 2017
18
14
49
Help! I did a hatch for a preschool class and one of the chicks has a strange lump on it's belly. I admit, it was not making progress after 48 + hours and I was expecting it to be deceased this morning, but I was able to assist it out of the shell, since it was peeping this morning and I just could not leave it to die any longer. I'm attaching a photo of the chick's backside. It is standing (wobbly) but acting like a normal hatchling other than this lump. What is it? Will it survive?
Thanks for your help! This is a first for me and I'm glad to have some experts weigh in.
 

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It's hard to tell from the picture on my little phone but could it be an unabsorbed yolk sac? Sometimes when we help, things don't go as smoothly (I've learned this from experience). I would make sure the other chicks don't peck at it or anything. If it is in the unabsorbed yolk sack, it will just dry up and fall off. You don't usually need to intervene for that but sometimes. Or is it possible that in helping, it may have been injured at the belly button or pulled something out?
 
Thanks for the reply! I don't think it is the yolk sac since it is very fleshy, but since I've never seen one or even intervened before, I don't know. Is the yolk fleshy and red?

This chick was drying out after attempting to hatch for so long. It pipped on Monday around 11 am and I finally helped it out this morning around 8:45am. It was stuck to the inner membrane where the shell had fallen off. Honestly, I thought it would have perished overnight.
 
Thanks for the reply! I don't think it is the yolk sac since it is very fleshy, but since I've never seen one or even intervened before, I don't know. Is the yolk fleshy and red?

This chick was drying out after attempting to hatch for so long. It pipped on Monday around 11 am and I finally helped it out this morning around 8:45am. It was stuck to the inner membrane where the shell had fallen off. Honestly, I thought it would have perished overnight.

Yes, it definitely can be. There was a thread I saw on here with someone asking about a similar problem. I hadn't seen one before but it looked like a little placenta -- a ball of veiny red fleshy looking mass. I love this site so much because I definitely wouldn't have thought that's what it was.

In that case I would have helped as well. :) I would just definitely keep it away from the others because if it gets stepped on, bumped, pecked at or anything like that, that can cause the little chick to herniate. Or so I've learned from this site.
 
It does kind of look like an unabsorbed yolk sac to me, I'd leave it alone, it'll probably resolve on its own. Just make sure the other chicks aren't attacking it. Here's another unabsorbed yolk sac in a different chick for comparison:

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That looks like a yolk sac for sure. I would keep in in the incubator until it drys and don't put it in with the rest of the chicks or they will peck at it and it could bleed. If it is yolk sac it will dry up and fall off eventually. It is best if you make a make shift egg for it a cup with a warm damp paper towel in it under a heat lamp. for a while until it looks better. then once its looking good put it in with the rest and be very watchful of it.
 
Good morning! Thanks for all the help, I'm waiting to hear how the chick, dubbed Rocky, did through the night. He managed to escape the shift egg setup yesterday. He also had a little drink. I'll let you know how he is doing once I hear.
 

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