duckdad29
In the Brooder
- Jun 2, 2023
- 9
- 23
- 22
Hello everyone!
Long story short, I ended up with some duck eggs that were about to hatch. I have never hatched anything from an egg in my life. They pipped but within 48 hours there had been no progress, however there was peeping and movement within the eggs. I ended up creating holes from the pips to try and help the babies. They still did not make any attempts to zipper for many hours, so we began to help the babies out ourselves. I was very confused because the membrane was dry, so dry that I think it was beginning to shrink wrap the babies yet they still seemed to be attached by their umbilical cord to the yolk. It was almost like they hatched both too early and too late. We did not open any of the eggs until the babies had externally pipped themselves. I am aware that these babies may need more help or not even make it at all. I'm raising them mainly to be pets. Not to keep indoors but just to have about the property. I'm just looking for advice and tips as well as a general view on the situation from those who know more than I. We have 8 ducklings now. All but one are moving around, seem healthy, and are peeping and being cute. One of them seems a bit behind the others, but we are keeping an eye on that one. Parents are believed to be a Muscovy and a Mallard, but we are not certain. I love ducks but am very much still learning. I was wondering if there was anything else I could have done in this situation besides not help them, in which case I believe they probably wouldn't have made it. They are dry and are now in a brooder with a 250W heat lamp, a thermometer, and food and water. Bedding is Aspen shavings. We are going to loosely put different colored zip ties on their legs so we can monitor them better. I want to weigh them periodically to make sure they are doing alright. Is there any certain amount of time I should be weighing them? Like every day or every week, etc. I would appreciate any other tips or things to look out for. Some of them still had umbilical cord irritation or something left after they hatched, but most of them appear to be healing up already very well. Some of them it is not even noticeable at all anymore. I have already been looking up things on the forum before I joined officially, but I wanted to get my story out there and get any and all advice that I can. From my perspective, the ducklings are doing very well all things considered. They seem lively, healthy, alert, and they are all fluffed up after coming out of the eggs. Thank you so much! All I ask is for some kindness, as I have been researching my butt off and doing the best I can in this situation.
Long story short, I ended up with some duck eggs that were about to hatch. I have never hatched anything from an egg in my life. They pipped but within 48 hours there had been no progress, however there was peeping and movement within the eggs. I ended up creating holes from the pips to try and help the babies. They still did not make any attempts to zipper for many hours, so we began to help the babies out ourselves. I was very confused because the membrane was dry, so dry that I think it was beginning to shrink wrap the babies yet they still seemed to be attached by their umbilical cord to the yolk. It was almost like they hatched both too early and too late. We did not open any of the eggs until the babies had externally pipped themselves. I am aware that these babies may need more help or not even make it at all. I'm raising them mainly to be pets. Not to keep indoors but just to have about the property. I'm just looking for advice and tips as well as a general view on the situation from those who know more than I. We have 8 ducklings now. All but one are moving around, seem healthy, and are peeping and being cute. One of them seems a bit behind the others, but we are keeping an eye on that one. Parents are believed to be a Muscovy and a Mallard, but we are not certain. I love ducks but am very much still learning. I was wondering if there was anything else I could have done in this situation besides not help them, in which case I believe they probably wouldn't have made it. They are dry and are now in a brooder with a 250W heat lamp, a thermometer, and food and water. Bedding is Aspen shavings. We are going to loosely put different colored zip ties on their legs so we can monitor them better. I want to weigh them periodically to make sure they are doing alright. Is there any certain amount of time I should be weighing them? Like every day or every week, etc. I would appreciate any other tips or things to look out for. Some of them still had umbilical cord irritation or something left after they hatched, but most of them appear to be healing up already very well. Some of them it is not even noticeable at all anymore. I have already been looking up things on the forum before I joined officially, but I wanted to get my story out there and get any and all advice that I can. From my perspective, the ducklings are doing very well all things considered. They seem lively, healthy, alert, and they are all fluffed up after coming out of the eggs. Thank you so much! All I ask is for some kindness, as I have been researching my butt off and doing the best I can in this situation.