Duck eggs pipping toward small end - help please

[elight23]

I have a Brinsea Adsvanced Mini and used it, for the first time, to hatch duck eggs. The eggs were large, but not too large that they didn't turn. However, now on day 27, I have two pipped and both are near the small end. (Holderread says duck eggs should pip on day 26 and hatch day 28. I have 6 other eggs that have yet to pip). One is in the air sac and has broken the outer membrane for fresh air, even though at small end. It has been this way for nearly 24 hrs. The other has pipped bellow the air sac. (I can candle through the incubator enough to see where the membrane is.) Due to their size, the eggs were almost always on their side and not with either end up. I pealed back just enough of the egg on the shell of the duckling who pipped under the membrane to expose the air sac, which was just above where it pipped. I made a small hole into the air sac thinking that this might bring in extra oxygen since I read chicks who pip under the air sac can suffer suffocation and drowning.

Is there anything I can do and does it seem that lying sideways in the Brinsea is probably the reason why this is happening?

Thanks

 

[sumi]

I've incubated duck eggs recently and had 2 ducklings pip in the small end. I opened the pip holes just enough to allow the ducklings to breathe easily and left them. They both hatched unassisted 2 days later. Ducklings take 2-3 days to hatch and I actually had one go to 3.5 days from external pip to completing the hatch. From internal to external pip takes around 24 hours, after which they could take another 24 hours from external pip to zipping, which could also take a few hours to complete. Just keep the humidity high (65%+) and sit on your hands! Don't feel like you have to help unless they've made no progress after 3 days and are showing signs of being in trouble.

 

[elight23]

Thanks! I felt compelled to help the three who pipped under the air sac and all went well. I found that once I had broken an air hole, their membrane got pretty dry and I had maximum humidity in the Brinsea. The one that I waited to help ended up dying. I'm still waiting to hear from Brinsea what they think about 4 of 7 of my ducks eggs pipping on the wrong end in their machine.