Duckling in trouble?

[BCJ]

Hello Everyone,

I have been reading all the posts regarding eggs that have pipped the wrong end and I could use a little guidance. I'm brand new to all of this, including posting on forums.

We have a single Indian Runner duck that may be in trouble. It is likely the only one to hatch from a batch of 21 eggs. Right now it is day 28 (hatch day) and "Flips" is still wanting to live, but I fear time is running out. He pipped straight through (no internal pip) 48 hours ago on the bottom of the wrong end! We left him alone for 24 hours and didn't see any more progress, so we did a quick candling and saw and heard him in the proper air sac, so we put him back in, air-sac-up, the same way we took him out. Early this morning the hole had gotten a tiny bit bigger and we could see movement (we assume the bill) through the little slit in the membrane. I figured we should at least turn him so the pip was up. I've monitored him on and off today and he has not made any progress, just seems to be swaying back and forth (observed through the tiny hole) and an occasional tremble. He does cheep a little when we talk to him, but I'm worried he may be stuck and unable to zip.

He got his name because he was flipping around a lot early on, and now it seems he was able to flip back and forth on the last days before hatching!?? We clearly saw him in the proper air sac yesterday, cheeping away, then this morning poking out the pipped hole. Are we seeing his bill?? Should we be intervening here?

 

[Animals45]

you could try with a wet paper towel and peel the shell a little.
I don't know much about this stuff so you could ask @ladybugchickenfarms.

 

[ladybugchickenfarms]

you could try with a wet paper towel and peel the shell a little.
I don't know much about this stuff so you could ask @ladybugchickenfarms.

I unfortunately don't have any experience with this either. @Texas Kiki or @Miss Lydia might. Is the membrane turning brown?
Best wishes for you and your little duck!

 

[Bug n Flock]

I would wait. Ducklings are notoriously slow hatchers. They pip a day or two or three before their yolk is fully absorbed. If he is peeping loudly when prompted and doesn't seem to be getting weaker, leave him be for a bit longer. Make sure the humidity is in the correct range, and just wait and watch. It is HARD to wait, I know. But those little ducks do take their time at the hatch some times.


But then, I am not an expert. If someone with more experience hatching duckies wants to peep up, go for it. But the 1 time I helped a ducky to hatch who I thought was stuck but ready to go, she spent the next several days in an intensive care stall while she finished absorbing the yolk. Today Nibbler is happy and healthy, but it was sorta touch and go and very nervewracking. If I had it to do over I would not have intervened when I did.

 

[BCJ]

I unfortunately don't have any experience with this either. @Texas Kiki or @Miss Lydia might. Is the membrane turning brown?
Best wishes for you and your little duck!

Yes, membrane is turning brown, its been exposed for 2 days now. It starts off nice and white when a chip of shell comes off, then yellows, then brown. Wish we had more of a view to determine if thats the bill we are seeing or something else. I would hate to think that I turned the egg pip up - air sac down, if what I was seeing was actually a foot and not the bill, and now he is suffocating. Thanks for your reply!

 

[Kiki]

What has your temperature and humidity level been at throughout the whole incuy process?
And do you have calibrated instruments in the bator?


Do you have coconut oil on hand?

 

[Kiki]

Yes, membrane is turning brown, its been exposed for 2 days now. It starts off nice and white when a chip of shell comes off, then yellows, then brown. Wish we had more of a view to determine if thats the bill we are seeing or something else. I would hate to think that I turned the egg pip up - air sac down, if what I was seeing was actually a foot and not the bill, and now he is suffocating. Thanks for your reply!

You can chip away some of the shell at this hole to get a better look.
Just the shell though not the membrane.
Once you chip away a little shell apply coconut oil to the membrane...it will help you to see better.

 

[BCJ]

What has your temperature and humidity level been at throughout the whole incuy process?
And do you have calibrated instruments in the bator?


Do you have coconut oil on hand?

You have gone right to the problem we discovered way too late in the process! After the last candling, and subsequent late deaths, we figured something was off. Despite our best efforts to fine tune the temp, it turns out, it is nearly impossible to find an accurate thermometer. Bottom line on temps is that they have been 1.5F high throughout the process. Brought back into proper range a few days to go in the incubation. Humidity has been difficult to maintain and I'm sure fluctuated quite a bit throughout as well. I have built a new arduino humidity controller for our batch of goose eggs started last week - which works wonderfully! But our 1st run at Runners is unfortunately turning into more of a lesson of hard knocks. We do have some coconut oil.

temp throughout: 99.5 but actually more like 101.
humidity throughout: 30 - 60%
Temp now: 97 - accurate
Humidity now: 70%

 

[Kiki]

Unfortunately there may not be a good outcome but it doesn't hurt to try.
See if you can chip away some shell and get a better look in the egg.
Stop if you see blood.

 

[BCJ]

I definitely feel a little better now thanks to your suggestions. We chipped away a little more shell and used the oil. Very neat how the oil makes the membrane translucent! We confirmed it was his bill we were seeing, so Flips has really validated his name! He was softly cheeping and rocking back and forth. We saw some active veination in the membrane, so stopped chipping (no vessels were compromised). I assume the rocking is him absorbing the yolk and other pre-hatch preparation? Looks like he's got some room to work in there, so its now back to waiting! What an amazing thing to observe! I'll post again with an update later on.