Yolk Issue

The very last hatching from my first clutch greeted me when I got home from my evening clinical. She is small (38g) and has a little bit of her umbilical cord hanging out (maybe a 1/4 inch). I figured the cord issue would resolve on it's own. She's in her own deli cup on wet paper towels. What else should I do about this issue?

My second issue is that she didn't absorb all her yolk. Will she be fine until she sheds or do I need to do something to get some food into her?

I tried to search...but the search function only gave me threads I'd already read which offered no advice that I wasn't already doing. Below is a picture of her and you can see her cord in this picture.

http://img713.imageshack.us/img713/3420/g0rc.jpg

She looks small, but not super skinny. Damp paper towels in a cup is the right move here, just keep it clean and let her heal. She looks like she at least got some yolk in her. Did she leave lots of yolk, or just a bit (like a small grape size amount or a ping pong ball size amount)? Does the leftover yolk smell funny or look "off" in any way? Did you notice any hardness near her belly?

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Originally Posted by Badgemash

She looks small, but not super skinny. Damp paper towels in a cup is the right move here, just keep it clean and let her heal. She looks like she at least got some yolk in her. Did she leave lots of yolk, or just a bit (like a small grape size amount or a ping pong ball size amount)? Does the leftover yolk smell funny or look "off" in any way? Did you notice any hardness near her belly?

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The yolk is about the size of a quarter and about the thickness of a peppermint. It smelt AWFUL. Almost like something was dying in her egg. It didn't really look off, just smelt funny. As for her belly, it's soft.

The rest of the cord will drop on it's own not an issue here.

As far as yolk not being absorbed and her size it's really gonna be a judgment call on your part.

You can offer food without having to wait for the first shed and see how she reacts then if you feel that is necessary you can assist.

It really depends on how healthy and alert she appears.

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Originally Posted by Deborah

The rest of the cord will drop on it's own not an issue here.

As far as yolk not being absorbed and her size it's really gonna be a judgment call on your part.

You can offer food without having to wait for the first shed and see how she reacts then if you feel that is necessary you can assist.

It really depends on how healthy and alert she appears.

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The umbilical cord looks A LOT better today. Some of it fell off and there's only a tiny piece left.

She appears to be pretty alert, but she definitely doesn't move around as much as the other babies. I'll grab a mouse for her and see if she'll want to eat something. She's definitely noticeably thinner than her siblings, but not too bad.

Good stuff. Keep her moist :gj: