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Here are a few from this hatch discovering the joys of dust baths. :)

I'm glad to hear your duckies seem to be doing well!

Aw, poor chick. Silly clumsy momma hen. I will cross my fingers for the remaining four!!!

They are adorable! When I was a kid, I remember my mom hatching out eggs in a bean pot. Homemade incubators can work so well sometimes!

Oh my. I may have to hatch some ducks someday, because they are JUST too cute. :) Congrats on all three!

Did the second make it out on his own, or did he need help? How about the third one, it's morning now, is he out? It was almost as much fun watching your hatch, as it is watching my own! Tee hee!

I know when pete55 helps a hatch, he puts surgical tape back over an enlarged pip hole to help retain the moisture inside the egg so the chick can finish hatching on its own. This is what I meant about it being dangerous to help, it's almost like once you start helping you're committed to it...

Yeah, I was just going to say, you could add a bunch of warm wet paper towels or a warm wet sponge and jack that humidity up to get the other guys through. But in the end if they need help, it looks like you've got the hang of it, the backwards pipper looks none the worse for your intervention...

What's your humidity right now?

For the two that pipped this morning, I would give them more time. If they pipped on their own, they have a good chance of getting out by themselves and you don't want to rush them.

I looked at your webcam, wonderful image you've got there by the way, what a great idea. Is the backwards pipper the one you've peeled away the most? He looks like he could free himself pretty easily, you might be able to peel away just the bit sticking up behind his head, and then he could...

I think turning the fan off tends to decrease the humidity? That's what I noticed when I had an incubator where the fan had an on/off switch. I think it's the circulation of air over the water reservoir that actually keeps the humidity up. Don't quote me on that, though. But I wouldn't turn the...

Oh sorry I forgot you had duck eggs, so day 28, right? Either way, if today is hatch day, then yeah I would give him a little more time. If he's got air, he should be fine for a while. You might use the other pipped egg as a gauge. If it has pipped in the right spot, maybe see if it makes any...

What day is he actually on? Is this day 21 now, or later than 21? It's really tough to know when to help, because if he hasn't absorbed the yolk sac yet, or if the blood vessels in the membrane haven't receded yet, you could kill him. But I can tell you what I have had to do for every backwards...

Good attitude. :) I wish you better luck on your next hatch, then!!!

I'm very sorry about your hatch. It's always so disheartening. :( Are you going to try again?

Every backwards pipper I've had has needed assistance to get out of the egg. I guess they just don't have room to maneuver properly in there when they are backwards. :(

That's great, it must be a breed characteristic. Mine is named Sophie, she is SUCH a hoot. She walks right up to you and bwaaarks at you, then she stands on your feet and bwaarks some more. If you don't have a treat for her, she'll flop down on the ground right next to you and bwaaaark while...

I have a salmon faverolle hen, she is the most entertaining chicken I have ever seen. She follows me around the garden like a puppy dog, right on my heels, bwaaarking constantly like she is telling me everything that went on while I was away. It's hilarious. She's also a good broody momma. I...

Oh, I can show you pics! So in the end I got seven chicks out of my 13 eggs, but only because I helped five of them out of the shell. They were ALL shrink wrapped so badly, I'm surprised the first two made it out on their own. But they all seem to be doing okay so far, so I took photos. Here are...