help! chook still sitting after 5 weeks!

[leoninathan]

Hi everyone, I am new here & hoping for advise. I have a broody chook sat on duck eggs, I have candled them & got rid of the unfertile ones, there is a definate air space in the remaining 3, but even for duck eggs, this is too long! I cracked one out of pure frustration last week to find a chick inside that looked like it wasnt far off, unfortunatly it was alive! But still she still sits & nothing happens! I am getting really frustrated as she is losing weight, she started sitting at the beginning of august. Please anyone, any advise much appreciated

 

[Whirlwind]

I don't know anything about duck eggs sorry. If you don't think they are going to hatch you could try to find her some day old chicks.

I have done this 2 or 3 times. You wait till dark usually an hour or 2 after dark. Slip the eggs out and slip the chicks under her.

Wear gloves if you do this she may peck hard. Hopefully by morning all will be fine. Just an idea for you.

 

[leoninathan]

thanks for the idea, I wouldnt know where to find such youngsters since i'm in the country, nobody I know has any, I just wish I knew if these things are going to hatch! It certainly woiuldnt be a problem lifting her, I have been taking her off the eggs so she can have a stretch & green pick & she goes straight back on after about 5 mins at the most, but she is very tame.

 

[Soccer Mom]

Duck eggs actually do take longer. What sort of ducks? Muscovies for example take 35 days. It's probably not too long. If you cracked one and found a living duckling, then I would leave these alone for just a bit longer.

 

[Whirlwind]

Sounds like you need to wait a while longer on the duck eggs. I sure hope she gets 1 or 2 she will be happy untill they try to play in the puddles and she doesn't get it.

good luck hope it works out ok..

 

[leoninathan]

i like your reply, I hope it gets that far, i keep listening to them & not a sound, but she is so determined to do her job, poor girl! I will hold on but it is getting so frustrating. They should be mallard crosses. The only reason she is sitting them & not the ducks is that she went very broody but I dont have a rooster & so when the ducks started laying it seemed the ideal solution, so if they do hatch I guess at some point they will start hanging out with the ducks! or spend their lives very confused!!!

i will keep u infoirmed

 

[leoninathan]

omg i hear life!!!!!! I chcked the ggs again this morning & i found a crack! i thought one had got damaged, i start4ed to panick!! & then i felt movement! i thought i had imagined it so held it to my ear then i heard it! a tiny little cheap! I wasnt this excited when my due date came!! my kids had a hold & heard the tiny little cheaps, so it is now going to be a very long wait, my chook is also very apprehensive, but yey! we have life!

 

[Whirlwind]

Keep us informed!!!

 

[leoninathan]

argh this is so nerve racking! my little peeping egg still was no further other than another little crack so i carefully peele a bit of shell off to find the inner membrane very dry so after reading a few of the posts i decided to carefully help, the poor duckling was completly stuck & there seemed to be no egg tooth on its beak so i helped it, it is now drying off after i tried to put it back under the chook who didnt like what she saw & pecked it! So i put it under a light. I went on another site that said ducklings take 2-3 days to completly leave their shell! Doh! But there was no yolk left to absorb, it was just dry, so a very apprehensive time untill it grows up to be a healthy duck! I do hope it survives, cos me & the kids would be devastated if it doesnt!

 

[Whirlwind]

I was just thinking of you and wondering what was happening. Dosn't sound like he was gonna make it out on his own.