Is this duckling alive?!!

[OreoPlymothRock]

We helped it hatch today because there was movement in the air space. It is under a heat lamp, and the stickiness dried up around him so I can't tell if he is breathing or alive. HELP!

He still has yolk attached to him.

 

[OreoPlymothRock]

SOMEONE PLEASE HELP!!!

 

[sourland]

I'm sorry, but how can we help? You are the one observing the duckling.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Sounds to me that you helped when you shouldn't have. Can you post a pic of what your seeing?

 

[OreoPlymothRock]

I can't because the computer won't take sd cards or flashdrive sticks

 

[OreoPlymothRock]

Imagine a duckling that is kind of hard. It feels hard. But its feet are like moveable and so is it's head, but it isn't doing anything. It is hard to tell if it is breathing because the feathers dried up into like a hard cluster.

 

[sunny & the 5 egg layers]

Why did you help him? Was he in distress or he just internally pipped?

I'm not familiar with ducks, but if it's yolk sac is still attached than it sounds like it wasn't ready to hatch.
Here's a good link on assisting chickens, I'm assuming it runs very much the same for ducks:
Step by Step Guide to assisted hatching

Keep that baby moist. If you don't have an incubator and only have a heat lamp, wrap the egg in a WARM wet paper towel and keep the membrane very moist.

If it has a hard glue like material covering its feathers, it sounds like it is very dry.

Humidity is crucial, as is warmth.
Make sure that baby doesn't rupture it's yolk sac. Make a small container And let the baby rest, don't let It walk around too much as it will hurt its yolk. He needs to absorb that yolk.

Good luck.

Edited to say: I can't get that link to work. Type in the search bar "assisted hatching" it's a byc article, you should find it.

 

[Miss Lydia]

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/...ernally-3-days-ago-but-no-external-pip-yet/10 is the duckling completely out of the shell and still wrapped in the membrane? trying to visualize this? and you say it hasn't absorbed it's yolk yet?

 

[TLWR]

1 - is ducking out of shell
1a - if yes, is it still wrapped in a membrane

2 - at what point did you help? (when it just started pipping? before it pipped? after it had pipped a while


getting out of the egg takes a lot of work, but they are equipped for doing that on their own. It takes time, they often take a few breaks to rest before working more to get out.
Either way, the duckling is out now.

Sounds like it is dry if its feathers as stuck to it. But is it in the membrane still, or out.

I'd stick him back into the incubator so the humidity will help the little one out.

 

[OreoPlymothRock]

I dont have an incubator, it was under a broody hen, but she hates them and killed one last year. we helped them before they pipped, when I saw them moving into the air space.