Breeders question... External yolk sack.

[Loslorosnz]

Are there any breeders that can help with some advice on this... I have a scarlet macaw chick hatched with a small bubble of yolk (smaller than a pea) outside its umbilicus. I've taped it back inside its egg for over 12 hours but it still hasnt drawn it in. My next plan is to tie it off. Has anyone done this successfully? Any alternatives? Thanks. Informed answers only please.

[Pajarita]

I would not touch it. You might end up doing more harm than good because the body is supposed to finish absorbing the yolk and 'cue' the vessels to shut off blood circulation in the spot by itself. I breed canaries, not parrots, and this has never happened to me so I don't really have any personal experience with it but, according to my Avian medicine books, when this happens, the best thing is to put the baby in an incubator for an extra day and start feeding after 6 hours of birth (this would give the body the chance to finish the task on its own). If any other anomaly presents itself, there could be an infectious process going on so, if this was my chick, I would rush it to a good avian vet. There is something called black spot death in baby canaries but I don't know if it happens to macaws although I would assume it does -again, I never had a baby canary with black spot, either, this is all book knowledge, not hands-on.

[Cedardave]

The external yolk will be absorbed by the bird.It will contain inportant nutrients.Dont mess with it.