Freak Hatch - Thrown Away Egg is Pipping

[Chickengal505]

Thanks Holly.

Two questions:

1) How do I make sure she has enough fresh air? Should I use a straw and blow air into the holes? (FYI, I only opened the top once to put in the sponge).

2) What does it mean to have developed into the shell? Does it mean that the shell is actually fused to their skin?

Thanks.

To make sure she has enough air.. Keep all vents open, and watch the humidity closely. If her voice starts to sound wet, or gurgles when she chirps, lower the humidity by a few notches. Not by much.
If she developed to the shell, it's possible her skin may be gone completely in areas, replaced with the shell. So her body is fused to the egg shell. That would make it 100% impossible for her to live outside the egg. Lets hope that didn't happen.

 

[nanasbitties]

I had set 22 Duck eggs 5mos ago 28 days later only 9 started to pip out of every 9 I had to help everyone hatch...I had to zip the shell ( duck eggs are much thicker than chicken ) and the inner membrane this is a very tedious process and not recommended because of the various answers...they aren't strong enough...etc...you have to be very careful when you zip the shell and extremely careful when you work on the outer membrane so you DON'T accidentally nip a blood vessel if you do STOP wrap the egg in a warm wet wash cloth to keep the membrane from drying out...try to see if you can see the inner membrane..is it shrinking down? Where is the ducks bill? Try to place in a position that so to speak keep its head above water where it can breath and at the same time push itself out the shell...All 9 of my ducks are 4mos old now so it can be done...please let me know if I can help.

 

[KatGold]

Crazy. I did help unzip the egg. The top popped off easily and I put her back into the carton.

After a while, I loosened the shell from the membrane a little. It just seemed like the right thing to do. The bottom of hte shell was still attached. So, I wrapped it in a warm, wet towel.

I left the room and told myself to not go in and mess with her.

Moments later, my daughters were yelling that the duck was out.

She's out!

She's a little bent in the neck and she has a hard time getting off of her back, but other then that, she looks good.

As my pal Tammy said, either she'll make it or she won't.

Cross your fingers!

 

[nanasbitties]

I am so happy that you got your baby to hatch....keep in touch

 

[Suzie]

KatGold...

I had an almost exact situation as you - I did help the duckling out of the shell and the membrane was stuck hard and a glue like substance was covering the rest of the body, her neck was also bent around to one side...I thought it was as she had been shrinkwrapped for a while... I took her (complete with s huge amount of shell stuck firmly to her back/wing ) into the kitchen and ran some very warm water, bathed her in it and slowly ( about half an hour later ) the shell started to lift... she is alive and very well! It took a few days until she straightened her neck up... it was a gooey mess and I had to bathe her frequently to free her up somewhat.

Sometimes intervention is a good thing!

Wishing you and her/him well!!!

Suzie

 

[Familyochickens]

just wondering about an update? pic?

 

[SilkiesForEver]

just wondering about an update? pic?

X2!

 

[KatGold]

So sorry to not update! We've been busy with our 4H group. This weekend was our county show. (If you'll put up with a moment to brag before the update) my daughters each earned two blue ribbons!

Before I forget, thank you all for your help! I needed some serious hand-holding and you were all there for me.

Okay, for the update. The chick is coming along beautifully! She is strong and adorable. I have pictures, but I don't have my camera with me this very moment, so I will have to post later.

Here's how I helped her out. After about 12 or so hours of pipping with no progress, I helped zip off the top. I very, very carefully opened the area near her bill and oooched it out so she could breath. I gently knocked off bits of shell and left the membrane in tact. I wrapped the shell/membrane with a warm, wet towel, put her back in the bator, and went outside to force myself to stop messing with her.

About an hour later, we had a duckling!

She's a cheepy little thing. We have a silver-headed drake and one green- and one silver-headed duck. That means, if it was the green duck's egg, it will be blue (I can see clearly that it's not green and those are the only two choices), and if it's the silver duck then it will be silver. We're hoping for a blue duck.

I tried vent sexing her and it appears to be a female. We'll have to see if I'm right.

On day two, we weighed her and she was 21 grams. Today, we weighed her again and she was 33 grams!

My daughters put her in the bathroom sink today for a swim. It was adorable. She swam and dunked her head just like a big duck!

Yay!!

 

[deidreschultz]

Thats so cool. Congrats. I love to watch them dapple. It will be fun playing mommy duck. Congrats again and good luck. Can't wait to see pics.

 

[SilkiesForEver]

Thats great!! So glad to hear the ducklings okay!! Looking forward to pictures!

Congrats on the blue ribbons!