Duck egg- peeping for days

[Rysktal]

Hi!
I have a chicken sitting on one duck egg. I have been hearing peeping and scratching from inside the egg since day 27. It's now day 32 and still no external pip. I am not sure what breed of duck the egg is, could be Pekin, Rouen or Muscovy or a mix!

Do I need to assist in anyway? I thought I read without an external pip the egg runs out of air after 24 hours but it's been way longer than that! Thanks!

 

[BullChick]

It’s difficult, but Mother Nature is incubating this egg, and she knows best. Babies do sometimes make noise days before hatching. Just breathe, and let it be.

 

[PaulX]

I would've assisted if it's really been 5 days since internal pip without progress, the little one could be malpositioned, but that's just me.

 

[Miss Lydia]

You could make a safe hole you’ll need to candle to see where the duckling is so you don’t hit it when making the hole. But if Muscovy it maybe about ready to hatch. 35-37 days for them..@WVduckchick

 

[WVduckchick]

Good point Miss Lydia. If it’s muscovy, assisting could be rushing things. But if it has definitely been internally pipped for that long, I’d do a safe hole and check things out.

 

[Rysktal]

What does a malpositioned duckling look like when candled?

 

[WVduckchick]

What does a malpositioned duckling look like when candled?

It can be hard to tell if they are malpositioned. Candle into the air cell and look for it’s bill. It would look kinda triangular if the bill has broken the membrane. Candle all around the rim of the membrane, looking from all angles.

Then check the pointed end. Peck on the egg and see if you can hear where the pecking is coming from.

Also check the shell for any bruise looking spots. If it has tried to pip away from the air cell, they sometimes make a dark spot where they are rubbing the shell inside. Fluid gets released between the membranes, sometimes causing a dark spot.

Here is an internal pip on one of my call ducks.

 

[Rysktal]

Update 1:
There is still movement and peeping. I did do a teeeeennny tiny safe hole this morning. 4 hours later and I now see a pip and a crack spreading from the pip. We shall see what happens!

 

[WVduckchick]

 

[Miss Lydia]