Egg help

[manybirds]

So I have some duck eggs in the incubator and there is one duckling that has punctured the air sack for like 2 or 3 days now and been tapping and peeping. I just thought that was a long time and it hasn't even pipped the shell yet. I tapped a crack at the top of the air sack to make the shell weaker and noticed that the shell was pretty thick and tough. should I help?

 

[jdywntr]

Hopefully someone with more knowledge will post. I just went through this myself. Here is the thread https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=540541
I never had hatching eggs before and mom left after 4 days on the nest so I brought mine inside to see if I could hatch them. 2 did not make it but my last one did.

It was difficult for me to decide to intervene but after reading some info on here and watching some videos on youtube, I decided I would.

Good luck in whatever you decide.

 

[Oregon Blues]

It takes a long time to hatch. Sometimes ducks with birth defects can not complete the job of getting out of the shell, and you are not doing them any favors by helping.

If you must do something, gently crack the shell on the pipped end and then leave the duckling be to do it on his own.

Once the shell is broken, the duckling will not finish hatching until the yolk sack is fully absorbed. You do not want to help the duckling out before that is finished.

All duck eggs have thick tough shells. Often the duckling will peep for a couple of days before it actually cracks the shell. I suspect that it is a message to the mother, if she is sitting on the eggs.

My advice: let nature take it's course. Unless you are hatching Call ducks, in which case, you need advice from a Call breeder. The stunted little bill on Calls appears to make it more difficult for them to hatch.

 

[manybirds]

I've hatched duck eggs before it's just it's taking so long and the shell was particularly tough. Bye and bye you don't show geese at sanctioned shows do you?

 

[Oregon Blues]

Not yet. I had absolutely no intention of owning or showing geese. I got geese rather by accident and I fell in love with this Pomeranian of mine. So I am buying more Pomeranian Geese and will be hauling them around to a few shows.

What shows there are. There aren't many in the Pacific Northwest.

 

[manybirds]

Thats sounds like fun. We show rabbits but we have so many we figured once or twice a year we would take them, we don't have time for any more shows than that though because most weekends are taken up at rabbit shows.

 

[Oregon Blues]

Showing rabbits really looks like fun to me. There are so many gorgeous colors and lovely different types of coats. The people I know with show rabbits are all lovely people and interesting to talk to.

I did the dog shows for decades and really enjoyed it. Now I'm going to try showing my poultry for awhile and see if I enjoy it. I thought that hauling around a couple of small ducks would be easy. But now I'll have large geese to tote around, too.

I sure do like these geese, though. On the bright side they are a lot smaller than horses and use a lot less equipment.

I'm finding that a lot of my dog show equipment is very useful for showing birds. It's nice to not have to buy all the equipment.

APA shows are very far and few between for me, so I am going to do some county fairs this summer. Make sure I like it. The closest sanctioned shows are going to involve an over-night stay for me so the $ adds up fast. Not to mention the gas to get back and forth.

Best luck with that hatching. I hope that turns out OK for you.

 

[manybirds]

It hatched!(with some assistance)

 

[Fleezie]