Duckling advice- bit of egg shell stuck on head

[emmec19]

Looking for advice. We have a 3 day old duckling with a bit of shell stuck on the side of it's head. We noticed it after we returned home from purchasing it and 5 others. I contacted the seller who said this is common and we should pick it off. However, it looks very attached and I'm concerned I might cause an injury if I try to pull it off. I have tried rubbing it with a wet q-tip but it hasn't moved. There are also some longer looking feathers that are hanging down into his eye and possibly some scabbing near the shell, or some dried on hatching goo, but that is hard to see in my picture. He seems fine; eating, drinking, jumping in and out of the water dish and staying close to his brooder mates. Any suggestions? Should I leave it alone and let it fall off on time or try to assist it in coming off?

And because someone may ask, this is our third time having ducklings so I'm not entirely new to this. We have them on pine shavings, heat lamp available to them, fresh water available at all times, and being fed non-medicated started feed and have sprinkled on Nutritional Yeast twice.

Thank you so much!

 

[floppysquirrel04]

Try warm water and gently picking it off. This is pretty common, if you can’t get it off it will fall off on its own in just a few days.

 

[Isaac 0]

Try warm water and gently picking it off. This is pretty common, if you can’t get it off it will fall off on its own in just a few days.

This is what I do, just had a duckling the other day with membrane stuck on its back, loosen it up with some warm water and it should come off.

 

[emmec19]

Ok, thank you both! I'm glad to hear this is indeed a common thing. I'll try to keep gently working at it