Sproutablossom
In the Brooder
- Apr 29, 2024
- 6
- 3
- 11
Hello all,
Our Indian Runner ducks laid eggs and diligently sat on them up until the first one hatched. The mother then accidentally suffocated the first baby so we removed the other eggs and very swiftly put them in the incubator. All 8 had pipped, and after 12 hours everyone but two had hatched completely. One egg then hatched the next day, leaving one left. We left it alone until the 38-42 hour mark when there had been no further movement. After reading loads online we decided to make a very small hole in the egg around the pip hole to see if the baby was shrink wrapped- her face was. So we assisted further and removed only a third of the shell (no more veins were present at this point). We then left her alone and she was happily sitting in her egg for another 36 hours before she pushed out of it herself. There is a very very small piece of yolk (?) attached to her bellybutton, about the size of an eraser on a pencil.
We still have her in the incubator at 98.5* and 70-75% humidity. She is very wiggly but we made a circle with a soft towel so she is in a barrier of sorts to keep her from flopping around and hurting her bellybutton. She has since stayed like this until now (24 hours later)
She looks very small compared to the others. She can only open on eye but is very vocal and responsive.
My question now is, what on earth do we do? Should I start feeding her something? The tiny piece of yolk sack looks shriveled up and I don’t want her to die of dehydration or starvation. As she can’t do anything but crawl I know I would need to assist her somehow. Was thinking of supporting her in a small mug so she starts to get her legs in the right position and still keeping her in the incubator if it will fit.
It does appear like she has started to poop a little, which also leads me to assume she needs food and water now like all her siblings.
Any help would be greatly appreciated. We adore her already and she’s such a little fighter. She’s lasted so long already we want to give her the best shot.
Our Indian Runner ducks laid eggs and diligently sat on them up until the first one hatched. The mother then accidentally suffocated the first baby so we removed the other eggs and very swiftly put them in the incubator. All 8 had pipped, and after 12 hours everyone but two had hatched completely. One egg then hatched the next day, leaving one left. We left it alone until the 38-42 hour mark when there had been no further movement. After reading loads online we decided to make a very small hole in the egg around the pip hole to see if the baby was shrink wrapped- her face was. So we assisted further and removed only a third of the shell (no more veins were present at this point). We then left her alone and she was happily sitting in her egg for another 36 hours before she pushed out of it herself. There is a very very small piece of yolk (?) attached to her bellybutton, about the size of an eraser on a pencil.
We still have her in the incubator at 98.5* and 70-75% humidity. She is very wiggly but we made a circle with a soft towel so she is in a barrier of sorts to keep her from flopping around and hurting her bellybutton. She has since stayed like this until now (24 hours later)
She looks very small compared to the others. She can only open on eye but is very vocal and responsive.
My question now is, what on earth do we do? Should I start feeding her something? The tiny piece of yolk sack looks shriveled up and I don’t want her to die of dehydration or starvation. As she can’t do anything but crawl I know I would need to assist her somehow. Was thinking of supporting her in a small mug so she starts to get her legs in the right position and still keeping her in the incubator if it will fit.
It does appear like she has started to poop a little, which also leads me to assume she needs food and water now like all her siblings.
Any help would be greatly appreciated. We adore her already and she’s such a little fighter. She’s lasted so long already we want to give her the best shot.
just want to try everything to give her the best shot
