duck hatching prematurely

[ryleigh]

One of our duck eggs started hatching early so we were taking a look at it and it looked like his blood vessels ripped. We think it was the other ducklings when they were in the incubator that were constantly pecking at him. I read something that said to put an egg shell back over him so he wouldn’t dry out so i did. We did not think he would hatch but, he did. He has been hatched for about three hours now and hasn’t been able to stand up. Is there anything I can do to help him?

 

[HeatherKellyB]

How long has it been out of the shell and not moving around? Hatching is hard work. If this is made worse by some blood loss, they can be very weak

 

[HeatherKellyB]

What day of incubation did this one hatch? Did it hatch on it's own?

 

[ryleigh]

What day of incubation did this one hatch? Did it hatch on it's own?

I got the eggs in a span of four days. It hatched on day 1 while the others hatched on day 2. They were stepping on, pecking, and messing with the other eggs (it’s not the biggest incubator). I think it was going to start hatching but the other ducks were pecking at it too. I tried to look at it and i saw blood on the shell.

 

[HeatherKellyB]

In the 28 day cycle of the duckling incubation, what day was it for this egg? I apologize if I'm misunderstanding

 

[ryleigh]

In the 28 day cycle of the duckling incubation, what day was it for this egg? I apologize if I'm misunderstanding

In the 28 day cycle of the duckling incubation, what day was it for this egg? I apologize if I'm misunderstanding

day 28

 

[HeatherKellyB]

If it lost a lot of blood, the duckling may be very weak. Any of my little ones that seem weak get sugar water to help them with a boost to get moving. If they're too weak to drink, I use a cotton swab and gently wipe sugar water all along the bill opening. I've heard of someone using a small paint brush for this same purpose

 

[HeatherKellyB]

What breed is it? Are you certain it hatched prematurely? How much blood did it lose?

 

[ryleigh]

What breed is it? Are you certain it hatched prematurely? How much blood did it lose?

it’s mostly pekin and if it did hatch prematurely it was only about 12 hrs. Only a little blood was lost.

 

[ryleigh]

How long has it been out of the shell and not moving around? Hatching is hard work. If this is made worse by some blood loss, they can be very weak

I noticed it hatched about 5 hrs ago. It is moving slightly but doesn’t seem to be able to stand up. It is currently still in the incubator.