Duckling Peeping, rocking, Not Hatching

[peepinglaura]

A Pekin duck managed to sneak an egg in a broody hen's nesting box. We took it and put it in the incubator because it would hatch far later than the chicks and be rejected. We were away when the duck placed her egg there, so I don't know the exact incubation age of this egg. However, it has been rocking around for 4 days as the duckling gets in position to hatch. Its peeping is very very loud today, but was audible for a while- this is at least the third day.

My worry is that our humidity has been really difficult to maintain and I'm afraid the poor thing is having troubles hatching- that seems like a very long hatch, though I've only hatched chicks before. I have never minded assisting with a hatch (I've never lost one I helped, but have lost some that I chose not to help and then regretted it). However, I can't really assist here, since there isn't a visible pip. It just seems that 3 days is a crazy long time to be actively trying to break out of a shell. Is there anything I can do? Or can ducklings take a really long time? Again, I wouldn't worry if I hadn't messed up the humidity.

Thanks,

Laura

 

[Gypsy07]

I'm not sure about the average time spent peeping and rocking inside the shell, but I do know that once pipped, ducklings (on average) take WAY longer than chicks to zip and hatch out. As in, 48 hours is perfectly normal. So perhaps they can take longer to pip as well. I wouldn't be too quick to rush in to help anyway, and hopefully soon you'll get some advice from someone who knows more about ducks than I do!

 

[peepinglaura]

Thanks, you were a help!! I will stop pacing in front of the bator for a while

 

[peepinglaura]

Yikes, it's gotten quiet and there's no visible pip. How disastrous would it be to put a tiny pip in the air sac end if there's no pip by bedtime tonight? It was screaming its head off, and I thought I read that mom hens will sometimes peck a hole in the egg at that point- not sure if that applies to ducks too.

Or maybe I could just sit on my hands and hope for the best.

 

[Gypsy07]

I have a very strict 'no helping out' policy so I'm afraid I have no experience of doing what you're suggesting. Some people on here have done it, with mixed results. If the failure to pip is purely due to low humidity and a stuck chick/duckling, it could work out fine. If it's due to a malformed or weak bird, you might end up having to cull it anyway to put it out of its misery. I suppose you could make a small hole and assess the membrane for dryness. Just candle first so you know you're definitely breaking into the air sac. Good luck with it!

 

[LadyBirdsPalace]

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