Are my duck eggs taking too long to hatch?

[RobinPeth]

Hello
We found some mallard duck eggs a month ago that were abondaned so we bought an incubator for them. It's now day 29 and 4 out of the 7 eggs ( which i think are all fertile as I candled them just before lockdown) have shown signs of external pipping. There is one that is more along than the others and has made a small hole through the membrane unlike the others, however it's been over 24 hours now and it hasn't made a lot more progress. It was chirping and sticking its beak out so we know it is definitely still alive but we aren't sure whether it is normal for it to take this long to hatch and whether or not I should assist.

Any advice would be much appreciated as I have never hatched eggs before! Thanks!

 

[GitaBooks]

How are they doing now? Some baby birds take a long time to hatch, but it can also take them a while to hatch or they can even get stuck without enough moisture, if the membrane dries out. Make sure the incubator is very humid and try not to open it often to let the humidity out.

 

[RobinPeth]

Update: one of the ducks has hatched!! But the one that pipped first hasnt made much more progress and its been 48hours now. The membrane does look a little dry so ive tried to make the humidity higher. I'm just worried that it may die if I don't help it hatch. Its sticking its foot out and beak and is definitely still moving but im just a bit worried if I leave it much longer it may not make it :/

 

[GitaBooks]

I've semi-assisted a lot of hatches, especially those with thick shells or dry membranes. Picking away from shell and using a needle to very gently break the membrane in a ring but letting the duckling push out and finish on its own is what I would suggest if you decide to help.

 

[RobinPeth]

3 have hatched now and one is just about to i think! we did what you said and assisted with the hatch of that one that was struggling and it has managed to get itself out

 

[DwayneNLiz]

3 have hatched now and one is just about to i think!

we did what you said and assisted with the hatch of that one that was struggling and it has managed to get itself out

congratulations!!

ducklings certainly take WAY longer than chicks to hatch

 

[GitaBooks]

Yay! Congratulations!

 

[RobinPeth]

4 have now hatched and one has its beak sticking out so i think it will ,aybe hatch today... The one we hatched however doesnt seem to be that well. It seems to have a problem with its legs as it cant stand up properly so we think thats the reason it was struggling go get out of the egg in the first place. it is still living and seems lively enough but we dont really know what we should do to help it :/

 

[ILuvMyFlock]

Usually if mine don't hatch by themselves after a day or two I assist by very carefully chipping away a little bit of the outer hard shell, I avoid the inner shell the best I can, I just make the pip a little bigger and then I wrap the egg in a moist paper towel leaving the top of the egg unwrapped so the duck can breathe and finish hatching.

 

[RobinPeth]

The duck that can't stand up is showing no signs of improvement. It seems lively though and seems to be trying to get up but it just can't. It's under the brooder at the moment drying as it is unable to do that itself in the incubator. I'm not really sure what's wrong with it so if anyone has any suggestions please do say as I am a complete newby at hatching eggs and I really want to do all I can to help the little guy.