Duckling can't open shell after zipping? Maybe?

[FenDruadin]

Okay, I have a duckling that has been fully zipped and pushing for 2 1/2 hours. Two other ducklings have since finished zipping (they were just getting started when this one began pushing) and hatched all the way out. Is the duckling stuck? I pulled several ducklings out of the incubator while he was finishing zipping. I did it quickly, spritzed everything with warm water, and replaced a wet towel in there with a clean wet towel. The humidity actually spiked while I was doing that because of all the water I added & sprayed in there.

Is there a chance I got part of the zipped section wet and glued it back together? How long do I wait before thinking of helping? I have two pipped not zipped eggs in there along with the ducklings and the one having a hard time. Also three eggs that have not, and may not, pip at all.

At what point is the "help" I might offer worth the risk to the other pips?

Thank you!

 

[froggie71]

Is the duckling sounding distressed? or very weak? still moving? They do take a break before hatching all the way. Maybe it still has a bit of yolk attacked and still not absorbed. I'd give it abit more time, but watch it carefully to not any distress. If you think it is, I'd see if the bill is making it through the shell. If it doesn't seem to be and the membrane seems to be shrink wrapped at all, maybe try chipping a small amount of shell and tear the membrane a tiny bit. Watch for any bleeding. You really want the duckling to do most of the work. Patience is hard, but necessary. Good luck.

 

[mulia24]

if you see that he/she is too weak then you need to help him/her out of his/her shell. do it slowly and keep it wet there. good luck heather.

 

[FenDruadin]

I'm going to give it more time. It is peeping very loudly, almost hoarsely, from time to time--it's obviously anxious to get out, and it is pushing, very hard, and I have seen the bill, though it's not visible at the moment. But it seems strong still, and the cheeping sounds vigorous if rather annoyed (lol), so I think it can stand to wait a little longer. Hopefully it will find its way out--I've just not had one take this long between zip and pop before (though I've only hatched nine ducklings so far...).

Thank you!

 

[FenDruadin]

Duckling still hasn't pushed the cap off. It's been seven hours now since full zip. It has made some MINOR progress though, so I'm going to leave it alone a little longer. Thoughts?

 

[Katy]

If it is too weak to push the top off after zipping it may very well be too weak to survive. I don't help as hard as that is sometimes. The few times I did help in the past the chick did not survive and often had leg problems that are what I think kept it from hatching on it's own to begin with. Everyone has to make the choice themselves.

 

[FenDruadin]

Okay, here is what just happened. I used a chopstick, pushed through the ventilation hole, to help lift the cap off. The duckling's head was stuck in place within the bottom portion of the egg, so it couldn't lift.

I waited a little, and seeing that it couldn't free its head, I then tried a variety of things. In the end, what worked was removing some gunk (using just a chopstick, lol, and never opening the bator) that had glued the egg to the egg carton. Once that was removed, I helped the egg rotate a bit. The simple change in rotation and the direction of gravity pull was enough to let the duckling free its head and escape.

I think in this case the duckling is strong and healthy. It simply had the bad luck to be trapped in an egg that couldn't rotate because of the "glue" from an earlier hatch. I've noticed the others rock themselves around while escaping, and the change in gravitational pull apparently is important.

Whew. So, I helped a BIT, but without opening the incubator. I'm so proud of me.

 

[Cherlyn]

Yay!

Now... PICS!

~Cherlyn

 

[froggie71]

Quote:
Great news and good job! Can't wait to see pics!

 

[FenDruadin]

Well, I may have spoken too soon. Katy, you may be quite right after all. When I wrote my last message, it was still in the bottom half of the shell, and I had to go out. When I got back a few minutes ago, it was all the way out--but its legs are stretched out behind it and it can't seem to get them under it.

Is this likely a result of being trapped for so long and struggling so long, or is it perhaps the *reason* it struggled so long and couldn't free itself? It seemed so strong in the shell...

Anyway, is there hope for this duckling? I REALLY don't want to have to cull. It can't walk yet, even though it's fluffed out. It does sometimes get its legs up under it briefly, but not for long. Is there a chance as it strengthens it will work this out?