I need help with this hatch: over 48 hours since pip. **Pic added.*

[QuackerJackFarms]

I have one duck egg that has pipped. And one that has been peeping but no pip. It is day 27. This has been going on since Monday afternoon. Simply put... what do I do?


****Now it's day 28 and I still have the same scenario 1 pip and 1 peeping/no pip.

It's been 48 hours. The pip that egg #1 made is no bigger. I can't see it's beak. I can hear it and see it moving and it seems healthy. At what point do I interfere?

With egg #2: No pip, and it's no longer peeping at me. I can hear it pecking but it's a faint tap now.. not aggressive like it was yesterday and the day before. How long can it live on just the air sac?

 

[duckyfromoz]

Just wait... Remember that 28 days is just an average- if you have one that is pipped then things are still moving along. Doing anything to " help" before they are actually due could end badly. Make sure the humidity is high enough and sit it out for a while longer.

 

[QuackerJackFarms]

Quote:
I was hoping you'd be on here this morning. The one egg that has been peeping at me for 2 days hasn't even pipped. This is so frustrating waiting!

I'm practicing patience right now.

 

[duckyfromoz]

Its morning here now too...just after midnight- so I wont be on too much longer.

It really is a worrying time. I know that I sometimes worry about certain eggs - maybe the aircell was a little smaller or bigger than the others.. Sometimes i see a kind of yellow mark on the inside of the shell.. sometimes I sit and watch an egg for what seems like hours just wanting to see it wobble once to show that the duckling inside is still alive.

There is a process they go through in order to hatch - and each of those things has to happen in order - the duckling will actually almost totally run out of air- that causes spasms which is when the duckling will finally break through the membrane- then it happens again resulting tin the breaking of the shell. Once the egg is cracked and it can breath, the duckling will rest for a while, and during this time the yolk and blood from the veins is absorbing. This also allows a little more movement and the duckling will start to turn around which allows the yolk and blood to absorb faster. Trying to help a duckling out of the egg can result in torn veins and that can result in a dead or very weak duckling. Also getting them out of the egg too early can increase the risk of an infection entering through the open navel.

But on the other hand- helping is sometimes necessary if the duckling is stuck under the membrane. Knowing exactly when to help is hard sometimes- as another thing to consider is that sometimes something is wrong with the duckling. Allowing it to slip away in the egg before hatching is sometimes kinder than helping it out and having it be sick or struggle for a few days before passing.

You are doing fine... Your babies will soon be with you .

 

[QuackerJackFarms]

Quote:
Well, thanks and you have a good night down under. I just realized your from Australia. Maybe but the time it's morning there I'll have some progress. This sucks!!

 

[duckyfromoz]

Last night I went to sleep with one hatched and woke to find a second in the incubator. Now 30 hours after the first one hatched all six are comfortably resting in the brooder.

I am going to have to move where my incubator sits - I am wearing out the carpet because I walk in there SO often. I hatch year round...so with a bit of maths... I think I would walk to the incubator to check, candle, turn eggs, refill water tray, check the temp, and watch duckling hatch about.... oh... TOO many times..

I will make sure I get up for work early enough to check and see how things are going for you.

 

[GrannyCarol]

I'll second the practicing patience. There is nothing really that you can do that would help before they pip in any case. They can peep a long time and then they can take two days after they pip! I've had duck eggs hatch 2 - 3 days after they were due, perhaps even more when I had a "cold" incubator. About the only time you can help is if they have pipped and the membrane really starts to dry and stick, then you can open the line they are working on by about 1/4" maximum and possibly put a warm damp paper towel loosely over the egg (keep it moist, but they have to breathe too). Really, the less you mess with them and upset temperature and humidity the more of a favor you are doing the whole hatch. I get SO attached to my eggs! lol

When I remember what they are doing, it is fascinating and a bit easier to wait... The duckling has to start breathing air by breathing its air cell. Then all the blood supply with its vessels has to absorb back into the duckling and off the inside of the shell, where it has been "breathing" through the shell by absorbing oxygen through the shell. Then the duckling has to make a hole to the outside somewhere in there to get plenty of air for the hard work of breaking free from the membrane and breaking the shell to get out. All the work and exercise that happens for the duckling to make holes in its shell helps it to absorb the blood vessels and strengthens it for its journey outside. No wonder the poor things are exhausted when they hatch! If we help too much, too soon, we can damage the blood vessels and kill our baby, we can also shorten that period of hard work that gets the blood moving to its legs and wings and makes it stronger and more vigorous. I remind myself that, even as I think of the ones I have lost that needed a bit of help. You will get a feel for what you can do with more experience and what is not going to help. If you lose one, realize that, in all probability, you would have lost it anyway though.

Be as patient as you can, then wait some more!

 

[QuackerJackFarms]

Quote:
Thanks Granny Carol. I'm still hearing peeping so I know it's alive but it's been peeping for 2 days. The other one has been pipped for two days. The other 6 are just sitting there. I just have that nervous unsettling feeling from waiting for so long and then being afraid I'm going to lose them. You know what I mean I'm sure.
I'm not as attached to the chickens as I am these little ducks. Can't explain that one, just is what it is!

 

[Ridgerunner]

No advice, just that I understand what you are going through. The hardest thing is knowing when or even if to help. Good luck!!!

 

[stillmecle]

Mine just went to lockdown. I hope things go smooth. I am a nervous wreck about my little babies in there