Accidental duck momma needs help with hatching

[Lacrystol]

Hi there,

I have been reading through all the great tips and tricks on this site for the past 11 days. There is so much information and support on this site, it is really wonderful!
I am hoping for some advice and direction.
My kids and I were watching a mother and her eggs that nested in the school parking lot. On Monday the 19th when we went to check on her we found her dead and partially decomposed a few feet from her nest of 9 eggs. I called the DNR, and three area wildlife shelters and they all did not rescue eggs. They advised I leave them as it would be unlikely any would survive having been in the cold (50 degree) weather for an unknown amount of time. Well, I am an avid animal lover and I couldn't leave them with no chance. I did quick research, bought a still air Styrofoam incubator and went back to get the eggs.
In the past 11 days I have read and researched so much about hatching duck eggs. At this point only 2 are still alive. I made some rookie mistakes, like rinsing them off when I bought them home and float testing an egg with a spider crack on the side. I also thought they were further along in development until they didn't hatch so I had stopped turning 6 days ago. I bought a hydrometer 5 days ago when the 2 survivors started wobbling because WI air humidity varies so much this time of year from 40% to 60% and I learned from this forum that humidity is terribly important for hatching I have kept the humidity at 60-65% until external pip when I upped it to 70-80%.
About 36hours ago the 2 survivors piped internally. They were wobbling and cheeping. As time went on my husband and I were getting worried that they weren't externally piped and that they were becoming quieter.
While I was at work late last night my well-meaning husband gently poked tiny holes in the air sac section of the shell. He says the ducklings were moving and chirping like crazy when he did it around 8pm. When I came home at midnight they were pretty quiet. I stayed up until 330am watching them and ensuring that the humidity got up to 75% and the temp stayed at 97. This morning both eggs were still quiet. Enough movement to know they are still alive, but no progress.
At 7am I gently opened a larger section of egg. The inner membrane was a little dry so I used a q tip dipped in warm water to wet the membrane. The ducks were moving around and opening their mouths and made a few cheeps. They still seem lethargic overall.
I wrapped their shells loosely in wet paper towel and the humidity is back up to 75% +
My questions are, am I doing the right thing for these ducks? Do I need to continue to assist them? Is there a time period of rest to give them and when should I intervene next?
I really love these little guys. They were getting so wobbly every time they heard my voice! I know that they had low probability of survival to start with, I just need to know that I gave them their best chance.
Any help would be much appreciated!
Thank you,
Liz

it's great that you are trying to save them, That's wonderful news, let me read threw these and I can direct you to the right direction

 

[Lacrystol]

one mostly out. Not a lot of spunk but chirping here and there. Definitely shrink wrapped. The other duck still has a large yolk attached. Seperated them in the incubator the mostly out duck on a dry paper towel and the duck in the egg wrapped in a wet paper towel. We will see how it goes. Prayers,advice and support still would be much appreciated. Thanks

one mostly out. Not a lot of spunk but chirping here and there. Definitely shrink wrapped. The other duck still has a large yolk attached. Seperated them in the incubator the mostly out duck on a dry paper towel and the duck in the egg wrapped in a wet paper towel. We will see how it goes. Prayers,advice and support still would be much appreciated. Thanks

get rid of the paper towels.

 

[Lacrystol]

Tell me where the two ducks are at??? Send me pictures, they need to stay in the Incubator for 24 hours, has it been that long? If not put them back in the bator and wait 24 hours. get your Temp up to 101. temp needs to be at 101 at all times. Keep humidity down so that they can dry off. EXCEPT if they still have yolk that they have NOT absorbed..

 

[Lacrystol]

Thanks for your reply subhanalah. I have been an extremely lucky first time hatcher to adopted eggs. One duckling is in the brooder running about and cheeping. The other is mostly out of his shell with just a small piece of yolk to finish up.

He looks like hes in a broody box or cage or whatever, get him back in to the Incubator, he's your ONLY hope in helping out the second one. Where is the second one? has he absorbed. Understand ducks do not LIKE to be alone, so you need to keep them together..

 

[LizD1]

Lacrystol,
Thank you for your help and your information. I have been doing my best to research and learn what I can as quickly as I can. I am a newbie who has no experience hatching eggs. I read quite a bit on this site, metzer farms site and countless others whose credibility I wasn't sure about. I read the assisted hatch post on this site many times and I prayed that I would not have to go that route. Unfortunately that is where I ended up.
Egg one hatched last night at 6pm. By this morning at 7am the second egg had almost finished hatching but still had a line connecting him to the egg shell. Duckling one was crazy, jumping around and I was concerned he would burn himself on the heating element (like I did!). They were separated for several hours, but I brought the first duck to see his sibling for a few minutes every hour.
I had read on the Metzer farms site to decrease the temp from 99.5 to 97 during hatching and to increase the humidity. The paper towels initially were to increase the humidity by increasing the surface area that was wet. I had one still absorbing the yolk and the other hatched. I did move the second duckling from the incubator to the brooder after only 8 hours after hatching. I wanted them to be safe and together.
I really have had he best intentions and I have devoted dozens of hours to research and a few sleepless nights trying to give these eggs a chance. The hatching process is STRESSFUL!
Now the concern I have is duckling 2 has a weak right leg. It appears to be well formed, but he topples over easily and doesn't extend his toes. Could this be from the stressful hatch? Is there anything I can do to help? Also do you have other recommendations about taking care of new ducklings?
Thank you for your time!

 

[Lacrystol]

Lacrystol,
Thank you for your help and your information. I have been doing my best to research and learn what I can as quickly as I can. I am a newbie who has no experience hatching eggs. I read quite a bit on this site, metzer farms site and countless others whose credibility I wasn't sure about. I read the assisted hatch post on this site many times and I prayed that I would not have to go that route. Unfortunately that is where I ended up.
Egg one hatched last night at 6pm. By this morning at 7am the second egg had almost finished hatching but still had a line connecting him to the egg shell. Duckling one was crazy, jumping around and I was concerned he would burn himself on the heating element (like I did!). They were separated for several hours, but I brought the first duck to see his sibling for a few minutes every hour.
I had read on the Metzer farms site to decrease the temp from 99.5 to 97 during hatching and to increase the humidity. The paper towels initially were to increase the humidity by increasing the surface area that was wet. I had one still absorbing the yolk and the other hatched. I did move the second duckling from the incubator to the brooder after only 8 hours after hatching. I wanted them to be safe and together.
I really have had he best intentions and I have devoted dozens of hours to research and a few sleepless nights trying to give these eggs a chance. The hatching process is STRESSFUL!
Now the concern I have is duckling 2 has a weak right leg. It appears to be well formed, but he topples over easily and doesn't extend his toes. Could this be from the stressful hatch? Is there anything I can do to help? Also do you have other recommendations about taking care of new ducklings?
Thank you for your time!

WELL GOOD JOB, yes, for his leg get some Vitamin B complete, people kind, put a tablet in a quart of water. This will help, after a day or two he should start using the leg, his muscle is probably not strong enough at this point but it will get better.

How's his vent or belly button looking? if you can show me a pic, this may help explain the weakness.

Also avoid swimming for at least the first week.. what are you feeding them, they can have anything but Medicated Chicken feed. Although there has been times when I have giving my ducks it and it didn't do any harm to them but I wouldn't recommend it on a daily basis..

 

[LizD1]

Oh thank you Lacrystol! I am trying my best! I am feeding Dumor chick starter/grower. I put water in it initially which is why is looks smooshy.
I am thinking that the joint on the right leg seems swollen? Just slightly. I saw something about straightening the leg out to get a tendon back into place. Could this be the problem?? I don't see any evidence of his belly button. That's a good thing right? Thank you for taking time on your Saturday night to help me and these cuties!

 

[Lacrystol]

OH YEH, I SEE IT. wow, can you wiggle the leg back and forth? Is there any pull to it at all or does she just let you do what ever you want to it?

 

[LizD1]

Hi Lacrystol,

He definitely does not want to extend the right leg. He squeaks like it hurts. We (my husband and I) cannot straighten it much without causing a lot of distress. We put a little piece of electrical tape on the webbed part of the foot to open the toes and a tiny piece of vet wrap around the lower joint to try and preserve some function. We do ducky physical therapy many times a day. He is getting faster at hopping on one leg and I have seen him scratch with the weak leg, but he doesn't bear weight. We tried using the vet wrap to link his legs together like they do for spraddle legs. It put his leg in alignment, but then he couldn't get around at all so we took it off. I added poultry drench and vit B complex to their water.
Any suggestions would be appreciated.
Thank you for checking in!
Liz

 

[claytonjoyner15]

Were they wild ducks you found? what kind are they if you know?