Do I need to break the egg shell?

[Lpskitfit]

Hey guys! Mg ducklings started to externally pip last night around 1:30 am. One egg had a slight crack and nothing more. I got home yesterday and still nothing more. I could hear it chirping and pecking but it just wasn't going to get anywhere. My mallard lays eggs with really thick shells and I'm surprised the duckling cracked it at all. It became clear around 12 am that the duckling wasn't going to break the shell on its own and I worried it might suffocate, so I peeled off a tiny bit of the shell from the part of the egg that was cracked (a little bigger than a toothpick sized hole) and went to sleep. It's been 5 hours and there's been absolutely no progress made. I got worried so I gently tapped the bator and it chirped for me. The other duckling managed to get its beak through but, like the other duckling, has stopped making progress. It hasn't gotten the hole any bigger since around 10 pm. I'm worried because I have an after school event that won't put me home until around 10:30 or 11:30 that's mandatory. Are they at risk of drying out between now and then? At what point do I need to start peeling the egg by hand? I'm no longer worried about suffocation but this is my first hatch!
They're on day 29.

You can see his little beak poking through .p if anyone wants me to add a video of him cheeping with his beak slightly out I will!

Edit!!: I decided to break the hole a little bigger since I figured it couldn't hurt anything and it looks like he was a big malpositioned. I went ahead and broke what I could (I used vaseline to keep the membrane moist) and the little guy talked to me the whole time. Seems like a healthy mallard in there! I really don't want to help anymore than is absolutely necessary because I know it can do more harm than good. I was going to wait until tonight but with how long I'll be gone (and how much I don't trust my mom to do it), I decided to do it now and go back to sleep before school. Does it sound it look like the white egg is going to need any assistance? What are the odds of my mallard breaking through on its own?

You can see where I had to stop because there were active veins.

 

[AltonaAcres]

@MGG

 

[MGG]

Hey guys! Mg ducklings started to externally pip last night around 1:30 am. One egg had a slight crack and nothing more. I got home yesterday and still nothing more. I could hear it chirping and pecking but it just wasn't going to get anywhere. My mallard lays eggs with really thick shells and I'm surprised the duckling cracked it at all. It became clear around 12 am that the duckling wasn't going to break the shell on its own and I worried it might suffocate, so I peeled off a tiny bit of the shell from the part of the egg that was cracked (a little bigger than a toothpick sized hole) and went to sleep. It's been 5 hours and there's been absolutely no progress made. I got worried so I gently tapped the bator and it chirped for me. The other duckling managed to get its beak through but, like the other duckling, has stopped making progress. It hasn't gotten the hole any bigger since around 10 pm. I'm worried because I have an after school event that won't put me home until around 10:30 or 11:30 that's mandatory. Are they at risk of drying out between now and then? At what point do I need to start peeling the egg by hand? I'm no longer worried about suffocation but this is my first hatch!
They're on day 29.
View attachment 2408369
You can see his little beak poking through .p if anyone wants me to add a video of him cheeping with his beak slightly out I will!

Edit!!: I decided to break the hole a little bigger since I figured it couldn't hurt anything and it looks like he was a big malpositioned. I went ahead and broke what I could (I used vaseline to keep the membrane moist) and the little guy talked to me the whole time. Seems like a healthy mallard in there! I really don't want to help anymore than is absolutely necessary because I know it can do more harm than good. I was going to wait until tonight but with how long I'll be gone (and how much I don't trust my mom to do it), I decided to do it now and go back to sleep before school. Does it sound it look like the white egg is going to need any assistance? What are the odds of my mallard breaking through on its own?View attachment 2408372View attachment 2408374
You can see where I had to stop because there were active veins.

Ok. So how many hours has it now been since he externally pipped? Do you see him.making any yawning/chewing motions? If so, as not ready. He's not ready until these motions stop. They make yawning motions to induce the contractions that cause the yolk to absorb. Don't do any more until you can't see any veins and there is no yawning. You shouldn't have to assist him anymore though, he'll be able to pop out when he's done. He probably won't be ready until at least tonight. Blood takes a while to absorb, and you don't want him hatching with unabsorbed yolk. Those ones are the toughest to care for.

 

[Lpskitfit]

Ok. So how many hours has it now been since he externally pipped? Do you see him.making any yawning/chewing motions? If so, as not ready. He's not ready until these motions stop. They make yawning motions to induce the contractions that cause the yolk to absorb. Don't do any more until you can't see any veins and there is no yawning. You shouldn't have to assist him anymore though, he'll be able to pop out when he's done. He probably won't be ready until at least tonight. Blood takes a while to absorb, and you don't want him hatching with unabsorbed yolk. Those ones are the toughest to care for.

I figured I shouldn't touch him until he's done. He's been making the yawning/chewing motions so I've left him alone. He's kicked a few times and he's looked like he tried to squeeze out but I didn't chip anymore because I saw him yawning. He's actually managed to widen the hole a little but more and the veins I saw this morning are receding. I've got someone at home keeping an eye on him. He externally pipped at 1:30 am yesterday, so it's been 34 hours. That said, did I make the right call by chipping some of the shell away? Thank you for responding!

 

[Lpskitfit]

@MGG

Thank you

 

[MGG]

I figured I shouldn't touch him until he's done. He's been making the yawning/chewing motions so I've left him alone. He's kicked a few times and he's looked like he tried to squeeze out but I didn't chip anymore because I saw him yawning. He's actually managed to widen the hole a little but more and the veins I saw this morning are receding. I've got someone at home keeping an eye on him. He externally pipped at 1:30 am yesterday, so it's been 34 hours. That said, did I make the right call by chipping some of the shell away? Thank you for responding!

Ok. That's fine. Yeah, if he's yawning he's working on absorbing. Hopefully he doesn't kick out too early, but he probably knows he's not ready. When he gets to 48 hours post a pic if he's not out yet. I personally would have done a smaller hole, but it's fine. Your hole won't hurt him in any way as long as you keep him moist. What day is he on? Is this your only egg? No problem. Hopefully he hatches out healthy and strong. He seems to be doing well so far.

 

[Lpskitfit]

Ok. That's fine. Yeah, if he's yawning he's working on absorbing. Hopefully he doesn't kick out too early, but he probably knows he's not ready. When he gets to 48 hours post a pic if he's not out yet. I personally would have done a smaller hole, but it's fine. Your hole won't hurt him in any way as long as you keep him moist. What day is he on? Is this your only egg? No problem. Hopefully he hatches out healthy and strong. He seems to be doing well so far.

I will post a picture at 48 hours. He's on day 29 and there's one more egg in the bator with a happy healthy baby who actually pipped first. Both of them are a bunch of chatter boxes and seem pretty healthy. The other one has a smaller hole that's been getting bigger slowly and is still working on absorbing. They respond to each other's chirps as well as videos of themselves chirping. Next time I'll make the hole smaller! Thank you!

 

[MGG]

I will post a picture at 48 hours. He's on day 29 and there's one more egg in the bator with a happy healthy baby who actually pipped first. Both of them are a bunch of chatter boxes and seem pretty healthy. The other one has a smaller hole that's been getting bigger slowly and is still working on absorbing. They respond to each other's chirps as well as videos of themselves chirping. Next time I'll make the hole smaller! Thank you!

Ok! Yay! That's awesome! Hopefully they all hatch. I love the way they chirp back and forth to each other. It's so cute. No problem! Keep me posted!

 

[Lpskitfit]

Ok! Yay! That's awesome! Hopefully they all hatch. I love the way they chirp back and forth to each other. It's so cute. No problem! Keep me posted!

I was just sent a video of him. He kicked out and has no yolk or blood still attached! He has a bent in foot but I've read that bent in feet can be caused by the way they were in the egg and shouldn't be taped unless they fix themselves after 24 hours. Is that true?

 

[MGG]

I was just sent a video of him. He kicked out and has no yolk or blood still attached! He has a bent in foot but I've read that bent in feet can be caused by the way they were in the egg and shouldn't be taped unless they fix themselves after 24 hours. Is that true?

Ok! That's good there's no blood or yolk. Yep, the foot thing is fine. They always go back. I don't ever tape feet, every time I used to they always died. I don't know why, I used many different safe kinds of tape and they were in safe areas. They would just always be laying on their sides dead. They didn't drown or overheat either. So my advice would be don't ever tape their feet, the only exception is if their legs are splayed. Hobbling splayed legs is necessary. But it's not often that you'll get a bird with splayed legs.