Advice needed - Hatching duck eggs may be in distress?

[TheBirdShed]

Hiya guys, my duck has been sitting on some eggs and they have started to hatch, so far one sucessful but two others I think need help.
This one started hatching over night but I think might be shrink wrapping, that bit of membrane at the front keeps getting stuck to its beak but still has lots of blood vessels so i dont really want to touch it too much.

This one started hatching late yesterday morning, but hasnt made much progress since, it had a large amount or dry membrane and egg shell pieces breaking off into the egg that i carefully removed with tweezers. But i have a feeling it might be suck with its foot over its head. (Nost sure how well you can see in second picture)

Any idea what I should do? (Fyi this is my first time hatching eggs)

 

[New duck mommy 2021]

Good morning
Did those babies make those holes like that or was it done by you or the mom duck ?
Babies can take 24-48 hours to start to zip after it’s first external pip
If there are blood veins that baby is not ready and shouldn’t be helped yet
The reason I ask about the holes is baby will make a small pip. Then a second pip close to the first then a zip
Some that are stuck make a big hole in the same spot instead of the zip and usually need help
Others will zip to the end of the egg and not around and again are stuck and need help
How old is the duck sitting ? How old are the ducks who laid the eggs ?
When my duck laid her first batch that I incubated and she sat on we had 10 make it to hatch and 8 needed assistance as the eggs were small and babies were stuck
She was only 7 months old at the time
Now she lays much bigger eggs and they hatch great on their own.

 

[Duckduckchicken32]

My broody just hatched a clutch of eggs as well. She stepped on one that had a good pip hole, and the whole egg had lots of cracks. Turned out he had his foot stuck over his face, and he needed help out. You should wait until the blood vessels don’t have blood in them, and you don’t see any chewing or yawning, as their yolk sack might still be absorbing. For shrink wrapping, try carefully putting coconut oil on the membrane. You will want to do that every couple hours. Just make sure not to get it on his nose hole.

 

[TheBirdShed]

Good morning
Did those babies make those holes like that or was it done by you or the mom duck ?
Babies can take 24-48 hours to start to zip after it’s first external pip
If there are blood veins that baby is not ready and shouldn’t be helped yet
The reason I ask about the holes is baby will make a small pip. Then a second pip close to the first then a zip
Some that are stuck make a big hole in the same spot instead of the zip and usually need help
Others will zip to the end of the egg and not around and again are stuck and need help
How old is the duck sitting ? How old are the ducks who laid the eggs ?
When my duck laid her first batch that I incubated and she sat on we had 10 make it to hatch and 8 needed assistance as the eggs were small and babies were stuck
She was only 7 months old at the time
Now she lays much bigger eggs and they hatch great on their own.

They both made the holes themselves, I dont think the one with the bigger hole started to zip because the shell it had got to was just a mangled circle, making me think mum stepped on it. The duck sitting is about 11/2 and she has 8 of her own and 2 she stole from my other duck. These eggs are much larger than what she normally lays. She went broody and they practically doubled in size.
Also about the blood vessels, dont worry i havent touched that one, I liffted the dry bit to make sure the ducking could breath, saw the blood vessels and put it straight back after the picture.

 

[TheBirdShed]

My broody just hatched a clutch of eggs as well. She stepped on one that had a good pip hole, and the whole egg had lots of cracks. Turned out he had his foot stuck over his face, and he needed help out. You should wait until the blood vessels don’t have blood in them, and you don’t see any chewing or yawning, as their yolk sack might still be absorbing. For shrink wrapping, try carefully putting coconut oil on the membrane. You will want to do that every couple hours. Just make sure not to get it on his nose hole.

Thanks for the advice, ill try the coconut oil, how would you recomend actually applying it? I do think that the one with the bigger hole pipped but got stepped on because there are quite a few cracks. I do think he has his foot stuck. If he hasnt improved, and I need to help what do you recomend doing?

 

[BirdsBeesTrees]

Thanks for the advice, ill try the coconut oil, how would you recomend actually applying it? I do think that the one with the bigger hole pipped but got stepped on because there are quite a few cracks. I do think he has his foot stuck. If he hasnt improved, and I need to help what do you recomend doing?

If you feel comfortable assisting,
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/assisting-call-duck-hatches.76507/

 

[Duckduckchicken32]

I put it on a Cotten swab. Once you can not see chewing or any veins, you can carefully cut a small bit of the membrane away. Do not cut anything with veins as the baby may bleed out! Chipping some shell away also helps.

 

[TheBirdShed]

Update - Duck with the larger holed egg started gasping despite full acess to air, so I made the decision to chip off bits of the shell a little at a time and eventually it managed to wiggle out. Looking at the egg shell, the entire membrane was drying despit my effort, so im glad i acted when I did.
The duck with the smaller holed egg has not made any progress, but it has not been 24hrs yet. The small bit that was stuck to her beak got re stuck and she was gasping, so i "rolled it back" off the beak so to speak and she stopped almost instantly. I chipped a tiny bit of shell off so I could move the membrane without damaging it. It still has blood vessels so i will not touch it until i am 100% confident they are gone or it hatches itself. I just plan to keep monitering to make sure it can breath.

Thanks for the advice everyone!!

 

[New duck mommy 2021]

Update - Duck with the larger holed egg started gasping despite full acess to air, so I made the decision to chip off bits of the shell a little at a time and eventually it managed to wiggle out. Looking at the egg shell, the entire membrane was drying despit my effort, so im glad i acted when I did.
The duck with the smaller holed egg has not made any progress, but it has not been 24hrs yet. The small bit that was stuck to her beak got re stuck and she was gasping, so i "rolled it back" off the beak so to speak and she stopped almost instantly. I chipped a tiny bit of shell off so I could move the membrane without damaging it. It still has blood vessels so i will not touch it until i am 100% confident they are gone or it hatches itself. I just plan to keep monitering to make sure it can breath.

Thanks for the advice everyone!!

I’m glad you were able to help get baby out
It’s very possible it got stepped on by mom
You can chip a little shell away where that membrane keeps falling on babies nose then check for blood veins if none pull that membrane over the shell or cut that piece off.
I use coconut oil to look for Veins but I use Vaseline to keep it moist for much longer. I find the coconut oil only lasts 1/2 -1 hour. The Vaseline lasts 3-4 hours
You can also take a dry Q tip and rub it gently between baby and membrane not far in just a little
As I chip more shell I would do this
This removes the goo that dries like cement on baby
Also rub the beak as that membrane has dropped on it a few times and that way you can make sure his mates are clear.
Then just let baby absorb and do what you did with the other baby when it’s the right time.

 

[Duckduckchicken32]

I’m glad that your baby hatched! Good luck on your other!