Hatch crisis?

[Miss Lydia]

I figured I probably won't do any more harm investigating at this point, so I candled. 7 had no movement, 4 had some movement, and 1 has pipped internally.

So, maybe we'll at least get one.

Okay update please

 

[billw]

No external pip this morning and no movement, so I figured it was time to at least start opening eggs to see what I could learn for next time.

I started with those that have shown no movement for a couple days. I found that the ducklings were indeed dead. They were well and fully formed, but with large yolks and were turned toward the small end of the egg.

It turned out that I have four still alive, but maybe not for long, given my inexperience. On the three that had not pipped internally, I carefully removed the shell around the air sack, soaked and then removed part of the membrane, and then found beaks right under the surface, unlike the first five. Once freed from a gummy layer of membrane inside the papery outer membrane, they were able to move a bit and breathe. Just that small removal of membrane produced some blood, so I went no farther.

On #12, the one that internally pipped, when I removed the shell around the air sack, I found that the beak had barely penetrated the membrane and the duckling was gasping through its mouth. I removed a bit of membrane to free the nares and then stopped.

So, I now have four eggs in the incubator with the shell removed around the airsack, each with a little beak sticking out of the membrane.

None of them look very lively though, so I have my doubts they will still be here when I get home this evening.

From my reading, it looks like the next step is to continue to remove bits of membrane as the blood supply dries up, so that is my plan for this evening if any of them are still with us.

 

[Miss Lydia]

No external pip this morning and no movement, so I figured it was time to at least start opening eggs to see what I could learn for next time.

I started with those that have shown no movement for a couple days. I found that the ducklings were indeed dead. They were well and fully formed, but with large yolks and were turned toward the small end of the egg.

It turned out that I have four still alive, but maybe not for long, given my inexperience. On the three that had not pipped internally, I carefully removed the shell around the air sack, soaked and then removed part of the membrane, and then found beaks right under the surface, unlike the first five. Once freed from a gummy layer of membrane inside the papery outer membrane, they were able to move a bit and breathe. Just that small removal of membrane produced some blood, so I went no farther.

On #12, the one that internally pipped, when I removed the shell around the air sack, I found that the beak had barely penetrated the membrane and the duckling was gasping through its mouth. I removed a bit of membrane to free the nares and then stopped.

So, I now have four eggs in the incubator with the shell removed around the airsack, each with a little beak sticking out of the membrane.

None of them look very lively though, so I have my doubts they will still be here when I get home this evening.

From my reading, it looks like the next step is to continue to remove bits of membrane as the blood supply dries up, so that is my plan for this evening if any of them are still with us.

Thanks for the update and sounds like you know what to do and when to back off, maybe by the time you get home the vessels will have reseeded enough to where you can continue...

 

[EmAbTo48]

Trust in your ducks! I do not incubate because I think the mother does best since they know what they are doing! Plus even a good broody hen will produce you ducklings!

We have 3 ducklings that my rouen was sitting on.. The rest of the eggs I carefully transfered to my broody hen so will see what happens.

 

[billw]

Word from the home front is that at least one of them is peeping a lot. Hopefully that is a good sign.

EmAbTo48, yes I would much rather leave this job to the ducks. For a while it looked like they had no intention of sitting, which is why we decided to incubate some, but we now have four ducks sitting on two monster nests, so even if this hatch is a complete failure, I'm hoping they will do a better job.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Word from the home front is that at least one of them is peeping a lot. Hopefully that is a good sign.

EmAbTo48, yes I would much rather leave this job to the ducks. For a while it looked like they had no intention of sitting, which is why we decided to incubate some, but we now have four ducks sitting on two monster nests, so even if this hatch is a complete failure, I'm hoping they will do a better job.

great news...

 

[billw]

More news from home:

The duckling that had internally pipped has kicked itself free of the egg. Apparently it still has a very large yolk.

That makes me wonder if I should do anything tonight with the others that have only their bills sticking out. If this one still has a big yolk, perhaps I should leave them alone for another day or two and see if they can finish absorbing and hatching on their own...

Any advice?

 

[Miss Lydia]

More news from home:

The duckling that had internally pipped has kicked itself free of the egg. Apparently it still has a very large yolk.

That makes me wonder if I should do anything tonight with the others that have only their bills sticking out. If this one still has a big yolk, perhaps I should leave them alone for another day or two and see if they can finish absorbing and hatching on their own...

Any advice?

Hatching in a bator is foreign to me I use ducks, but i would think it would be better to use caution now after this little one has hatched with yolk sticking out. I think it was Celtic yesterday telling someone to put their duckling inside a round bowl so it can't kick the yolk and cause bleeding is egg shell still attached? put paper towels down inside the bowl then the duckling.

 

[billw]

We're down to three.

The one that pushed out of the shell earlier today was dead by the time I got home.

We still have three in the shell that haven't progressed since this morning. They're breathing and occasionally moving a bit, but not making any efforts to get out of the shell.

I guess I will just leave them alone and see what happens.

 

[Miss Lydia]

We're down to three.

The one that pushed out of the shell earlier today was dead by the time I got home.

We still have three in the shell that haven't progressed since this morning. They're breathing and occasionally moving a bit, but not making any efforts to get out of the shell.

I guess I will just leave them alone and see what happens.

I'm so sorry. I am sorta in the same boat, even though my duckling is in the egg under mama she has been pecking away and making no progress since I first listened this morning, and since the other 4 eggs weren't any good I am so hoping this one hatches. I so want to help this duckling but know I can't. So I know how you are feeling right now. Are you going to candle again? If this duckling hasn't progressed by morning I guess I'll candle again but I hope we both see ducklings soon. This is nerve wracking.