External pip on underside of air cell… do I flip?

[DuckyMama4]

I have not seen an internal pip yet in our eggs. This morning I had the shock of finding an external pip on the underside of the air cell… should I rotate it so the pip is up?

We have never hatched eggs before so I am quite inexperienced… we planned to research before putting eggs in but nature had other plans.

I’m also really questioning now if some of our other ducklings have internally pipped and I’m just not seeing it. Some of them have a lot more jagged looking air cell lines.

 

[DuckyMama4]

Good to hear, Nekremer! It’s a little over 24 hours sense external pip… I can still hear peeping and see slight movement so I assume little one is ok. Just staring intensely. Lol!

 

[quackingdom]

I don't think there's any need to rotate it. I've had a lot of eggs that pipped facing downwards.

Jagged air cell lines probably don't mean an internal pip, but sometimes it can be a bit hard to tell by candling, especially if you're new to it. Try holding the egg up to your ear and see if you hear a little clicking/tapping noise. That's always what I do to tell if they've internally pipped. Sometimes they'll peep as well, but not always.

 

[DuckyMama4]

Thank you for the help and reassurance!

I am finding it very difficult to keep the humidity up in this small, packed full (9 eggs), incubator. I had it holding pretty steady at 77 last night, woke up this morning to 67. I may send my husband for a larger incubator today and hope for the best.

Little pipper is the same this morning. I’m both very happy and disappointed with that! Lol! I don’t see any external pips on the other eggs but I can still see movement/shadowing in all of them. for some more progress today!

 

[Nekremer]

I had chics hatch out recently. One externally pipped at the bottom similar to yours and he was fine. He hatched quickly and rails once he started zipping.

 

[DuckyMama4]

We have our second external pip!

 

[quackingdom]

Coming up on the 30 hour mark sense I first noticed the external pip… it could have been longer but I did not look at underside of egg before going to bed that night. Duckling has made no progress at all. Still peeping ever so lightly now and then. Membrane is definitely dry. I can see a tiny part of inner membrane and it also looks very dry, dark brown in color. It looks like beef jerky. At times the egg appears to be vibrating very quickly for 5-10 seconds and then stops. Humidity is currently at 75%. Have not opened the incubator sense this morning to re-wet sponges (humidity was down to 67).

Also, can anyone explain what “chewing” looks like? I’ve been seeing it mentioned a lot but it’s never explained what it would look like. I’m gathering an opening and closing of the bill… but quick? Slow? Constant or with breaks?

No progress is normal. Next time you wet the sponges, you could try wetting the membrane as well with coconut oil or water on a Q-tip. I'd recommend misting the incubator and eggs (just don't get water in any pip holes in case it gets into the duckling's nostrils) with a spray bottle too.

The chewing motions are a bit hard to describe...or maybe I'm just struggling to conjure up a mental image at the moment. Yes, it's an opening and closing of the bill, fairly rapidly, I think, and it's something they do periodically, maybe every few minutes?

 

[quackingdom]

Also unsure if it’s the same with ducks, but with chicks in lockdown you shouldn’t open the incubator to avoid shrink wrapping the chick.

It's the same with ducks. But there are a lot of hatchers (myself included) who do open the incubator during lockdown. You just have to be careful that the humidity doesn't drop. Misting the eggs/incubator helps prevent the humidity from falling. Some people will open the incubator in a humid shower/bathroom.

 

[Yardmom]

Coming up on the 30 hour mark sense I first noticed the external pip… it could have been longer but I did not look at underside of egg before going to bed that night. Duckling has made no progress at all. Still peeping ever so lightly now and then. Membrane is definitely dry. I can see a tiny part of inner membrane and it also looks very dry, dark brown in color. It looks like beef jerky. At times the egg appears to be vibrating very quickly for 5-10 seconds and then stops. Humidity is currently at 75%. Have not opened the incubator sense this morning to re-wet sponges (humidity was down to 67).

Also, can anyone explain what “chewing” looks like? I’ve been seeing it mentioned a lot but it’s never explained what it would look like. I’m gathering an opening and closing of the bill… but quick? Slow? Constant or with breaks?

I would describe the chewing motion to look like yawning.

 

[Yardmom]

There is an article for assisted hatches hopefully someone can link it if you can't find it. For your longest pipped one it sounds like the membrane is dry. Put a vegetable type oil on it. You may also need to add a safety hole. Use a nail or something that you can make a small hole in the air cell at the end of the egg.

Sorry, if the bill is outside the membrane you don't need a safety hole.