Ducklings Hatching - PLEASE HELP & SEE PICTURE OF BUMP ON DUCKLINGS BELLY

[rockyhranch]

Evening! I come to this group tonight in search of some help with an egg I have here that is hatching. My duck who lives outside in a coop and outdoors at her leisure during the day, but at night i bring her into the coop for protection from predators, has been nesting the last month. 4 days ago her ducklings started to arrive. I thought they were all done arriving and I started clearing out the others that she hadn't sat on for over a day , she even pushed them all around and out of the nest..... one of them has a little beak poking out that is chirping still. Its mucus membrane is very dry and its trying desperately to hatch. I tried giving it back to her and she pecked it!!

I brought it indoors, and have it in a blanket, under a heat lamp.

1) Is there anything I can do to help this little duckling hatch and live a healthy life? I haven't gone through something like this before and have gone through 3 duck hatchings over the last 2 years, although this was the first set of ducklings for this mama duck.

2) I've been researching online that it might help to give the mucus membrane some water, i have gotten a warm cloth and wipped the egg down with it.

3) Any helpful advice is appreciated. Thank you.

 

[Virus]

If you have a humidifier you could put in near the egg to help wet the membrane. If you have to chip away some of the egg shell very carefully but only if it really seems like it can't hatch on it own. Once it hatches give it some time to rest then at night, when it's dark put it under the mother. She still may reject it and if that happens you'll have to raise it.

 

[rockyhranch]

THANK YOU! As you can see i posted this late last night, and haven't looked back until now. I ended up keeping it indoors and holding it in a wet cloth for a couple of hours.... Then he hatched mostly on his own, although i did help chip away at just a couple of pieces of the shell, leaving the inner layer of the egg in tact while he pushed through. He's been sleeping ever since, wakes up occasionally and falls back asleep under the heat lamp. I'll keep him inside today and try and sneak him back out to the mama. I"ll have to watch closely incase she tries to kill it.... thats my fear. If that happens, I'll raise it seperate until I can reintroduce them ... shes been very accepting of other ducks etc shes very friendly I think it will be okay! I was so nervous last night looool thank you for your response!

 

[rockyhranch]

There is a large... placenta looking like thing attached to his belly that I've never noticed on other ducks before. I've never hatched them on my own tho either, the mama ducks always do it, and i leave them to their own and give her space for a couple of days.... I'm really unsure what it is.... Is it a placenta? will it fall off? or is it a tumor? I have no idea. If its a tumor it might be the reason she was rejecting it.... if not and its normal for ducks to be born with this..... well then that will be good lmao. Anyone experienced with hatchlings do they normally have a ball like placenta thing on their belly?

 

[enola]

A picture would help. It sounds like an I completely absorbed egg yolk.

 

[rockyhranch]

good idea! i'll try and take a picture one moment

 

[rockyhranch]

Theres still a couple egg shell pieces on him as i've just been letting him/her sleep since the hatch early this morning....any thoughts on what this is?

 

[enola]

It is the unabsorbed yolk, like I thought.

In the gentlest way I can think to tell you this; the outcome for this duckling may not be good.

Keep him as warm and comfortable as possible and hope for the best.

 

[rockyhranch]

After you said that, i started looking through this forum and came to that conclusion as well. this is probably why mama rejected it, i really think she knew... I should have not interfered and let nature take its course... but since i did, I'm just going to keep him/her resting peacefully and as long as he/she isn't in pain ( which right now shes just really sleepy, she hasn't moved much since hatch, just been sleeping...I'll just keep her comfy until shes no longer comfy. I'm going to hope for a good outcome, but if she suffers i'll put her down.

How do these happen? What caused this? Off to research.

This was my duck's first set of babies. The Drake was a new duck to me given from a friend who has many ducks, after my coop got invaded by raccons and only the mama survived. They hit it off and mated, and mate constantly, my concern is if this is hereditary... could this happen again in future nests?

Poor sweet ducky <3

 

[Virus]

Poor thing. I'll never understand how the mothers know that something wrong.