Day 32 and still no pip, but is ALIVE- re-post

[tennesseeckn]

I posted this in the hatching section and someone suggested I re-post here.

My son brought a fertile duck egg home from a sleepover on September 26. We put it in our newly vacated Brinsea Octo 20 and have been patiently waiting. When I locked down on day 25 it looked a little under developed, not really solid. This was my first duck egg, so I thought it was normal.

For the last three nights I have opened the bator, sure the duckling was dead, but candled just to be sure before tossing it. Every time there is movement. It's not huge, but you can tell the air sack is undulating. No internal pip, yet.

I am almost completely certain my temps are good. I had a 100% on my last hatch of Orpingtons, and they hatched on day 21. My son's friend tells me that it is a Khaki Campbell X Pekin. There are no Moscovies in the pen.

Anyone else take this long to hatch? Is there any hope? Should I try to help? (I've never done that before)

This poor, little mutt duckling that I was NOT excited about is now consuming all my time and attention. With my luck, it will hatch, then need round-the-clock care. The little booger has me so attached.

 

[duckyfromoz]

Assuming your temp was correct- the biggest issue I see is that the quickest growth period is the last few days before hating. Ducklings can get so big quickly that they are unable to turn in the egg- or even get into the correct position for hatching to start with. Being overdue doesnt stop the duckling from growing - so space for it to move is a problem. The other issue is- even if you were to make a small breathing hole into the airsac- if the duckling is back to front or upside down it still wont benefit.

How big is the air sac in relation to the whole egg? If the egg lost too much moisture the duckling may not be able to pip through the inner membrane because it is too dry.