Early Bird or Something Wrong?

[ccsslb]

I set two batches of Khaki Campbell eggs from different sellers on 4/9/10. I had planned to move them to the hatcher tomorrow, 5/4/10, and expected them to hatch around 5/6/10. I was busy building a new brooder for my chicks yesterday and missed my mid-day turning. When I opened the bator around midnight last night, I was quite shocked to see a bill sticking out of one of the shells!. He was alive and squirming, and had a nice size hole so I didn't turn any of them in case someone else was trying to pip. This morning, he was still breathing but the hole wasn't any bigger. I've been having trouble with my chicks pipping, but then not hatching without my help, so I enlarged the hole a little where I could see it wasn't touching him. I just checked again at noon and there was no further progress, so I dipped my fingers in warm water and moistened all around the hole since it was really drying out. I noticed in one place, the water looked a little bloody.

I haven't turned any of the other eggs yet because I'm not sure what's going on. I've never hatched ducks before, but my chickens and turkeys never started this early. I've been over the dates a dozen times, but I still come up with this being only day 25. Is there something wrong with this baby and I should just treat the other eggs like I normally would? Or am I missing something and should expect them all to start pipping (if they're going to)?

 

[chickboss]

Just giving your post a bump up here. I am doing my first batch ever and am only on day three. The only thing I can think of is that the temp may have run a bit high in the bator and is encouraging an earlier hatch. Good luck!

 

[ccsslb]

Thanks for the bump. He hasn't made any more progress, except a little more peeling from me. None of the others are showing any signs of pipping yet, which they shouldn't. I wonder if there is such a thing as a premature duck?

 

[duckyfromoz]

I often find a single duckling will pip well before the rest- and when they do- It is almost never the first one to hatch... Just keep an eye on your humidity..And soon Im sure yuou will have some more pipping too.

 

[kitkatbahr]

Hi, I just wanted to chime in and say I am raising one now that was hatched this past Thursday night, which was day 24! The eggs were not supposed to start hatching until yesterday which was day 28. So far as I know, none of the others have even pipped. They are at the local elementary school. They took two dozen of my eggs to try and hatch. Some were bad and ended up being thrown out, but there were probably about a dozen left when I went to pick this little one up. The teacher came in Friday morning and checked the incubator and there was this very tiny little mess. She was already out of the egg and did it all on her own, which means she pipped on day 23? I don't know. I counted and re-counted and I am positive that it was day 24 when the teacher found her. It was Friday morning and she was still wet, so definitely just hatched sometime during the night/early Friday a.m.. They didn't even put the eggs into the incubator until the afternoon of the day I took them in!!

She seems to be just fine. She was very wobbly the first few days, but really came into her own yesterday. She is jumping and hopping all over the place chasing food, eating flies that I killed for her. She loves peas torn up into tiny pieces. And of course, she is eating her unmedicated chick feed too. I don't know if the others will even hatch. The teacher had problems with the temp, humidity, auto turner, all kinds of stuff. It totally amazes me that this one made it all on her own, and early too. She was tiny, tiny, tiny, but seems to be growing just fine. So, I beleive they can be "preemies" and alot probably don't make it, but some do. This little one is living proof!

Good luck with your babies!

Kathy