Help! Day 25 and no pip, made safely hole, now what?

[Baker5]

I am incubating eggs for the first time and could really use your advice on what to do. I have a viable egg left in the incubator (candling shows movement, veining and air cell drawn down) at day 25. I made a safety hole and could see no internal pip and the internal membrane was white and dry looking. I moistened it with coconut oil and could see strong veining, so I put it back in the incubator with a wet paper towel. What should I do at this point? Wait? How long? Help it hatch? Is it malpositioned?

Background: I had 16 mixed mystery breed shipped eggs, which had many saddle air cells. I started with a homemade incubator but had problems regulating temp (fluctuated from 96-116!). Five days in I got an inexpensive incubator off amazon. 5 eggs made it to lockdown and 3 hatched on day 21. One quit a few days later, fully formed. I have the one egg left and am not sure how much/if I should help it.

Thanks in advance for any help you can offer.

 

[Baker5]

I decided to open up the air hole to find the beak but I don’t see any sign of it.is this a malpositioned chick? Should I start peeling back to shell to find the beak?

 

[Baker5]

I decided to try to find the beak to give her an air hole since she was moving less. It didn’t go well. She completely stopped moving as I searched for the beak, and when I opened it up completely.... I found out it was a duck! The poor thing was probably developing right on schedule and I feel terrible I killed it. It just never occurred to me it could be a duck. I ordered chickens!

 

[Ruby Rogue]

That is wild! Sorry I'm not able to offer any help and sorry for your situation. Hope your 3 are doing well.

 

[ktomacie]

You didn't know.. Was the egg the same size as the chicken eggs? I am new so I am not helpful in most ways but I am sorry you lost a baby duck!

 

[Baker5]

It was the same size of many of the other chicken eggs! In fact, the other egg that quit full term was exactly the same size and shape, I thought for sure they were the same breed.

 

[Baker5]

It was #14 which was just one gram less than the chick that didn’t make it (#1)