Help! Air cell’s too small but duckling’s still Alive trying to pip!

[Croissant]

Hi! I posted another thread but I wanted to specifically focus on this egg and I was hoping to find someone that might have had the same issue and hear what they tried - the air cell is too small and didn’t decrease but the call duckling is still alive and it’s day 26. I think it’s trying to pip but i don’t know if it will survive, should I help? I can see veins in there still, and I think I can see where the beak is? Should I make a small hole there? Every time I tap I see that little thing move - it’s to the left of the letter C.

 

[Miss Lydia]

@DuckyDonna
@WVduckchick

 

[DuckyDonna]

I'm not sure about call ducks @WVduckchick would be the best because she's the call duck expert and she hatches all the time.

If you are only on day 26 I wouldn't think I'd make a rescue hole just yet since there are 2 more days until hatch but I'm not really sure so please hold off until we can get WV on here. I've tagged her and so has Miss Lydia.

This is what wvduckchick told you before but not sure if it would apply now.

"Humidity was likely too high throughout. It’s pretty much too late to do anything about it now. I would suggest waiting for the first internal or external pip before adding your water for hatching. Make sure your vents are fully open."

I'm sorry that I'm not much help!

 

[DuckyDonna]

I just found this from @Pyxis back in 2018

"Temperature is the same as with other ducks, 99.5 F in a forced air incubator or 101.5 F in a still air. Humidity depends on your location, and no one humidity is going to be right for everyone. For me, 30% works the best, but it could be different for you. You might want to weigh them to monitor weight loss so you can adjust, or just keep an eye on the air cells.

Hatch day is day 26, lockdown day is day 23. Also, since Calls have been breed to have short necks and beaks, they have trouble hatching. Ones that aren't as good examples of the standard can usually do okay, but the better they are in terms of type, the harder it is for them to hatch, so if the eggs are coming from nice stock you'll want to be prepared to assist just in case."

So, apparently they do start to hatch on day 26 so I guess if you make a small hole it might be ok.

Here is the whole thread. I think you should read it. It's not long and Pyxis is very knowledgable and you can trust what she says.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/call-duck-eggs-incubation-instructions.1218995/

 

[Croissant]

I just found this from @Pyxis back in 2018

"Temperature is the same as with other ducks, 99.5 F in a forced air incubator or 101.5 F in a still air. Humidity depends on your location, and no one humidity is going to be right for everyone. For me, 30% works the best, but it could be different for you. You might want to weigh them to monitor weight loss so you can adjust, or just keep an eye on the air cells.

Hatch day is day 26, lockdown day is day 23. Also, since Calls have been breed to have short necks and beaks, they have trouble hatching. Ones that aren't as good examples of the standard can usually do okay, but the better they are in terms of type, the harder it is for them to hatch, so if the eggs are coming from nice stock you'll want to be prepared to assist just in case."

So, apparently they do start to hatch on day 26 so I guess if you make a small hole it might be ok.

Here is the whole thread. I think you should read it. It's not long and Pyxis is very knowledgable and you can trust what she says.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/call-duck-eggs-incubation-instructions.1218995/

Where do I make the hole though? Where the air cell is or the actual egg?

 

[DuckyDonna]

Where do I make the hole though? Where the air cell is or the actual egg?

in the air cell and be careful! Some people take a wood screw and very gently twist it until you get through

 

[Croissant]

in the air cell and be careful! Some people take a wood screw and very gently twist it until you get through

Alright I’ll do that! But what would the hole do? Since the duckling hasn’t pipped out into the air cell it might only dry up the membrane instead - so should I make it big enough that I can put a q-tip in to wet the membrane and see inside?

 

[WVduckchick]

I’m sorry, but in my experience, that egg looks way too clear to be on day 26. It should look basically all dark except for the air cell.

Putting a safe hole in the air cell before the duckling internally pips does nothing for the duckling. A safe hole can be done once it breaks the membrane, to give extra air for it to breathe, when the air cell is small.

 

[Croissant]

in the air cell and be careful! Some people take a wood screw and very gently twist it until you get through

I

opened the egg because there was no movement today so I thought the duckling had died, and I saw very slight movement. I can’t see it’s beak However and I don’t see the duckling tapping either. This is the air cell side - it was completely white and you couldn’t see veins at all so I wet it with coconut oil on a q-tip

 

[WVduckchick]

I View attachment 3032041opened the egg because there was no movement today so I thought the duckling had died, and I saw very slight movement. I can’t see it’s beak However and I don’t see the duckling tapping either. This is the air cell side - it was completely white and you couldn’t see veins at all so I wet it with coconut oil on a q-tip

can you feel movement?