Help! Freshly hatched duck…
Freshly hatched duck and this gooey cord is wrapped around its leg and it’s making it hard for the duckling to move around. From another angle it looks like it’s wrapped around twice. I looked online and didn’t find many other experiences with this. Will this resolve itself?
I have hatched quail and we have a small flock of ducks but this is our first duck egg hatch in an incubator and I’m worried it’s going to mess up her leg to where she permanently has a hard time walking.
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u/PaintingRoses_Red Duck Keeper 1d ago
To me it looks like umbilical cord? Personally if I were in that situation I would first take it out of the incubator and put it in the brooder in hope it would dry up on its own. The incubator has moisture so it won’t dry in there. Once it is dry if it doesn’t fall off on its own I would take a pair of scissors and snip it off but it should dry up on its own. I wouldn’t mess with it like this as it could bleed causing the duckling to bleed out. It is ok to move them to the brooder once hatched in my opinion.
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u/ace3047 22h ago
Where is it attached to? If it's attached to where the yolk is usually absorbed it may be a kind of umbilical cord. You might want to let it dry out a bit before cutting it off once there's no blood supply. You could also use a small medical clamp if you accidentally cut it too early and it bleeds a lot. That way it wouldn't bleed out and should clot. Also, definitely keep it away from any other ducklings they will try to eat it.
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u/Welsummersheep 1d ago
I had a chick recently hatch with this. I ended up using a sterile needle to break a part of the skin of whatever it is and then slip it over the leg. I tried without using the needle and it would not go over. I just pricked it so it had more give. It then slowly dried up over 2 weeks and the chicks is now 3 weeks old ith no issues. Not sure if it is part of the umbilical cord/connect to the yolk, or if it's a hernia or intestine. For my chick I don't think it was intestine as when it dried it was hollow, but did have blood supply for a long while. I had to get it unwrapped from the leg as the chick couldn't walk correctly. I didn't think it was going to make it, but I was shocked how it just kind of dried up and shrunk.