*Died* Preemie duckling rejected with yolk sack to absorb Help Please

[CMRDucks]

I have a baby duckling that was kicked out of a community nest of 1 year old, first brood Anconas. It looks like it hatched early, still has a bit of yolk sack to absorb and it's got some shell fragments still attached but it is out of the shell completely.

I don't have an incubator. I have it in a small bowl with a warm damp washcloth in a box under a grow light. Temp is 81F and Humidity is 54%. There is a little blood on the shell but no active bleeding. She's been inside 1 hour.

She's sleeping and is curled around her yolk sack on her side with the bits of shell beside her that are still a bit attached. She's breathing, moves a wing or a foot or twitches a bit now and then. She's doing a swallowing or hiccuping thing but she's very weak/tired/stressed. The slight movements have increased in the last hour.

I've been reading all the duck in a cup kind of threads but they were in the shell still. I'm hoping the damp washcloth and her curled around the yolk sack will allow her to absorb more before it dries out. She was still very wet when I found her so she hadn't hatched too long ago.

Advice please? I'm leaving her be, I just want to leave her be in the best possible conditions.

Thanks!

UPDATE: Thank you for all of the support, unfortunately she did not make it

 

[Miss Lydia]

I have a baby duckling that was kicked out of a community nest of 1 year old, first brood Anconas. It looks like it hatched early, still has a bit of yolk sack to absorb and it's got some shell fragments still attached but it is out of the shell completely.

I don't have an incubator. I have it in a small bowl with a warm damp washcloth in a box under a grow light. Temp is 81F and Humidity is 54%. There is a little blood on the shell but no active bleeding. She's been inside 1 hour.

She's sleeping and is curled around her yolk sack on her side with the bits of shell beside her that are still a bit attached. She's breathing, moves a wing or a foot or twitches a bit now and then. She's doing a swallowing or hiccuping thing but she's very weak/tired/stressed. The slight movements have increased in the last hour.

I've been reading all the duck in a cup kind of threads but they were in the shell still. I'm hoping the damp washcloth and her curled around the yolk sack will allow her to absorb more before it dries out. She was still very wet when I found her so she hadn't hatched too long ago.

Advice please? I'm leaving her be, I just want to leave her be in the best possible conditions.

Thanks!

This is one for @casportpony or @Lacrystol sounds like you doing all you can for now lets hope one of these experienced ladies is on. Not sure if she should be on a damp wash cloth though that may keep the temp from being at 85 that is where it should be. How about just a soft dry wash cloth. They duckling should continue to absorb the yolk sac .

 

[CMRDucks]

This is one for @casportpony or @Lacrystol sounds like you doing all you can for now lets hope one of these experienced ladies is on. Not sure if she should be on a damp wash cloth though that may keep the temp from being at 85 that is where it should be. How about just a soft dry wash cloth. They duckling should continue to absorb the yolk sac .

Thanks, I can put her on a dry wash cloth I just wasn't sure in the first few hours how to keep the yolk from drying out while adding heat to warm her up. I'm looking for a shallower box to try and get to 85F.

 

[CMRDucks]

She peeped at me loudly when I gently moved her from the damp to the dry washcloth back in her bowl.

 

[CMRDucks]

She peeped at me loudly when I gently moved her from the damp to the dry washcloth back in her bowl.

Switching out the washcloth to dry we now have 84F and down to 45% humidity. She's still sleeping but her movements continue to increase.

I'm watching the temp closely and I'll adjust container size to keep warmth and a cooler area like a standard brooder. The bowl is round so if she does wake up and get duckling figgity while I'm asleep tonight, she can roll out of it if she's strong enough. If I sleep tonight.

I've never hatched any ducklings before and neither have my broodies. I'm amazed how big they are cramped in those eggs!

 

[CMRDucks]

She's sleep "peeping" occasionally and is still more sleep twitchy - increasing motion vs. decreasing motion. I hope that is a good sign.

Steady at 84F and 41% humidity based on my temp hydrometer right next to her bowl. It has been a few hours and her movements increase continuously. I hope that means her strength is increasing with the little baby duck whistle peeps.

I don't know what else to do to help her right now.

 

[Lacrystol]

Need to get that temp highs, get it up to closer to 100 I can't see in the pic very good. Is it possible that she doesn't have yolk and what u are seeing is her belly button swelled up? Sometimes the two look very similar if you are not aware of them.

If you can give me a Better pic with more lighten I could tell you exactly what you are seeing. If it's the belly button then no need to keep it wet its best to get it to shrink down and you can do that by raising the temp and keeping the humidity down.

 

[Lacrystol]

Looks to be a lot of blood yet is any of it flowing at all

Flowing. I mean is there any trails of blood outside of her??

 

[CMRDucks]

Need to get that temp highs, get it up to closer to 100 I can't see in the pic very good. Is it possible that she doesn't have yolk and what u are seeing is her belly button swelled up? Sometimes the two look very similar if you are not aware of them.

If you can give me a Better pic with more lighten I could tell you exactly what you are seeing. If it's the belly button then no need to keep it wet its best to get it to shrink down and you can do that by raising the temp and keeping the humidity down.

I'll get a better pic, I wasn't disturbing her - that is the number one thing I've read on any weak/helped duckling.

It was definitely yolk - about 2 stacked nickles worth. I disturbed her and took a pic and it is significantly reduced. Raising temp and loading a new picture.

 

[CMRDucks]

Need to get that temp highs, get it up to closer to 100 I can't see in the pic very good. Is it possible that she doesn't have yolk and what u are seeing is her belly button swelled up? Sometimes the two look very similar if you are not aware of them.

If you can give me a Better pic with more lighten I could tell you exactly what you are seeing. If it's the belly button then no need to keep it wet its best to get it to shrink down and you can do that by raising the temp and keeping the humidity down.

I think it is still yolk belly and no, she isn't bleeding. The yolk belly was twice that size 4 hours ago.