Help! Duck egg pipped internally 3 days ago but no external pip yet!

[khaosity]

Sorry! Sorry it's been so long since an update. Again, just not wanting to, well, jynx anything I guess!

Good news thou! Both are doing really well!

#1 has been drunkenly stumbling around and #2 has kicked free of his/her shell and has all but absorbed the yolk. I was a bit worried (and honestly, still am) about 2 because it looked like there was a tiny bit of yellow on his/her foot under the yolk (where I couldn't see) but nothing was oozing so I just let em be. A few hours have gone by since then and 2 is now awkwardly hoping around as well! The yolk is all but completely absorbed, and again, no leaks. If the yolk was leaking, it must have been tiny and since dried up. Both have eyes open and yes, I melt every time they look at me. Which is every time I talk to them. Hahahaha, they cheep and peer up at this giant weird thing in their sky! Hahaha, def imprinted these two. x'3 (<-happy, tears of joy, catface. in case anyone was wondering lol)

I got a good picture of 1 about 20 min ago but 2 is still mostly resting so I'm letting her. Thank you again SO MUCH to everyone who was rooting for us (me and the ducklings). I can't tell you how valuable and appreciated your help, advice, cheering, concern, etc. has been! This literally would not have been possible without you.

I did take pictures throughout the whole thing (and will post a photo journal later if anyone wants), and like I said earlier, some of what I learned later would have been very useful in the beginning, but it's my own fault for being unprepared. I really just thought mama was gonna do it! lol That said, if this does happen again, I feel much more prepared and confident and I know what I should have done in the beginning.
Like since they hadn't absorbed the yolk yet, I should have only chipped away a tiny bit of the egg, made a hole for the beak to breath and then wrapped them in plastic wrap (with a tiny hole for breathing) and kept them moist until they absorbed the yolk., THEN tried to chip them out of the shell slowly. I feel many would have had a much better chance if I had done that. But I didn't know and thus tried to do everything I could to the best of my knowledge. Even so, I can't help but feel awful about the loss of the others. Thank you all so much thou for not chewing me out or anything, and instead offering kind words and shouts of encouragement. Its meant so much, I can't even tell you.

More info and photos on the next post.

But I'm def not dwelling on anything as I have two healthy, peeping babies to show for my efforts! Yay!!

So here is #1, before and after:

This was right after opening, but also after I started wetting the membrane. Didn't think to take a picture of the dry membrane since I was in such a hurry to wet it but it looked much tighter, like the baby had been shrink-wrapped and paper-mache'd. The membrane was almost as white as the shell.

And, after!! **MELT** x'D Neat markings on them too, due to them being half cayuga and half pekin, probably. I'm really diggin em.

And then here's 2: (he/she decided to wake up for a moment when I went in there last)

She/He's really tired still. Managed to catch a moment with her eyes open thou.

She had hopped over to snuggle down with her sibling a moment earlier:


More pictures and updates once they fluff out and whatnot. They look great and are doing really well but I know we're not quite out of the woods yet.
Thanks again everyone!

 

[Iain Utah]

Congrats!!!!!!!! So happy to hear your update!!!!! The babies look great!!!!!!!

 

[Miss Lydia]

Sorry! Sorry it's been so long since an update. Again, just not wanting to, well, jynx anything I guess!

Good news thou! Both are doing really well!

#1 has been drunkenly stumbling around and #2 has kicked free of his/her shell and has all but absorbed the yolk. I was a bit worried (and honestly, still am) about 2 because it looked like there was a tiny bit of yellow on his/her foot under the yolk (where I couldn't see) but nothing was oozing so I just let em be. A few hours have gone by since then and 2 is now awkwardly hoping around as well! The yolk is all but completely absorbed, and again, no leaks. If the yolk was leaking, it must have been tiny and since dried up. Both have eyes open and yes, I melt every time they look at me. Which is every time I talk to them. Hahahaha, they cheep and peer up at this giant weird thing in their sky! Hahaha, def imprinted these two. x'3 (<-happy, tears of joy, catface. in case anyone was wondering lol)

I got a good picture of 1 about 20 min ago but 2 is still mostly resting so I'm letting her. Thank you again SO MUCH to everyone who was rooting for us (me and the ducklings). I can't tell you how valuable and appreciated your help, advice, cheering, concern, etc. has been! This literally would not have been possible without you.

I did take pictures throughout the whole thing (and will post a photo journal later if anyone wants), and like I said earlier, some of what I learned later would have been very useful in the beginning, but it's my own fault for being unprepared. I really just thought mama was gonna do it! lol That said, if this does happen again, I feel much more prepared and confident and I know what I should have done in the beginning.
Like since they hadn't absorbed the yolk yet, I should have only chipped away a tiny bit of the egg, made a hole for the beak to breath and then wrapped them in plastic wrap (with a tiny hole for breathing) and kept them moist until they absorbed the yolk., THEN tried to chip them out of the shell slowly. I feel many would have had a much better chance if I had done that. But I didn't know and thus tried to do everything I could to the best of my knowledge. Even so, I can't help but feel awful about the loss of the others. Thank you all so much thou for not chewing me out or anything, and instead offering kind words and shouts of encouragement. Its meant so much, I can't even tell you.

More info and photos on the next post.

But I'm def not dwelling on anything as I have two healthy, peeping babies to show for my efforts! Yay!!

So here is #1, before and after:

This was right after opening, but also after I started wetting the membrane. Didn't think to take a picture of the dry membrane since I was in such a hurry to wet it but it looked much tighter, like the baby had been shrink-wrapped and paper-mache'd. The membrane was almost as white as the shell.

And, after!! **MELT** x'D Neat markings on them too, due to them being half cayuga and half pekin, probably. I'm really diggin em.

And then here's 2: (he/she decided to wake up for a moment when I went in there last)

She/He's really tired still. Managed to catch a moment with her eyes open thou.

She had hopped over to snuggle down with her sibling a moment earlier:


More pictures and updates once they fluff out and whatnot. They look great and are doing really well but I know we're not quite out of the woods yet.
Thanks again everyone!

They are beautiful!!

I am so happy for you. If you can get some save a chick or Poultry Nutri drench that would really help them to gain strength when they start to drink. Can't wait to see new update after this one is so wonderful..

 

[Iain Utah]

They are beautiful!!

I am so happy for you. If you can get some save a chick or Poultry Nutri drench that would really help them to gain strength when they start to drink. Can't wait to see new update after this one is so wonderful..

X2! If you can't find poultry specific booster vitamins, you can also add human infant polyvisol drops (without iron), found at walmart, riteaid, walgreens, etc. Even adding a touch of sugar to the water helps to perk them up. That is what I have used with good success.

 

[Amiga]

Mercy, what a pair!

Congratulations!

 

[khaosity]

Awww, thanks! I'm pretty smitten myself.

And like I said, couldn't have done it without you all, so thank you, thank you, thank you! (really, that can't be said enough lol)

They're doing really well and all but completely dry, but I noticed that they still have a bit of membrane on their backs and a tiny bit on their faces, which is making it hard for one baby to open an eye. I moistened a q-tip and wet the area and she/he could open his/her eye a bit more, but they seem a little uncomfortable.

They've been running around in there at times and sleeping and cuddling at others, so I'm wondering, when would it be safe to wet the leftover membrane down just enough to get the rest of the it off? I figure at the very least a few more hours or maybe tomorrow morning? I'm in no rush as it seems that they're doing fine otherwise. Just curious. I know mama takes them to water within a day or so, but also that they can't be in the water for more than a few minutes since they're not oiled yet. Anyway, no worries, I'm not messing with them. Just wondering what you guys think.

Oh and I do have some vitamins to add to their water, and a proper feeder and waterer for them. I know to dip their beaks in water within 24 hours but that they won't eat until at least tomorrow. Since we raised their parents last year, I've just about got the duckling thing down; or at least, have some experience with that.
It was just getting to that that was the tricky part! (tytytyty!)

Here are a couple more pictures:

Hard to believe that baby fit in one of those eggs! It's amazing, really.

Oh and that towel they're on is dry and I folded it in a couple spots so they'd have something to snuggle into. It's a pretty fuzzy towel. Remember those 5 that were a cpl days behind? (probably..lol) The one that I suspected of being a late quitter, indeed was, so I removed it today once I noticed it had started to smell. They're in a rather large rubber storage bin and earlier they both were just cruzing all over the place, trippin on eggs, wedgeing themselves into corners, etc, lol, so I moved the babies to a box within a box so I could keep the other eggs that might be behind as moist as possible, while at the same time, keeping the ducklings as dry and comfortable as possible. I made sure their yolks had completely absorbed and they were mostly dry first thou.

 

[Iain Utah]

They look great! Congrats on an excellent job!! You can moisten gunk with warm qtip to remove, but the babies usually figure out how to get themselves cleaned up on their own in a day or two.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Oh my goodness I can see how you are smitten I am too. give them a few days to get their legs under them then put them in a bit of warm water they should begin to bath right off. and don't forget to post pics of the bath time we'll be waitng... and since your an experienced duck mama you will be here to help others thru something like this. [ I just hope it isn't me]

I don't know if i could be as brave as you have been.

Awww, thanks! I'm pretty smitten myself.

And like I said, couldn't have done it without you all, so thank you, thank you, thank you! (really, that can't be said enough lol)

They're doing really well and all but completely dry, but I noticed that they still have a bit of membrane on their backs and a tiny bit on their faces, which is making it hard for one baby to open an eye. I moistened a q-tip and wet the area and she/he could open his/her eye a bit more, but they seem a little uncomfortable.

They've been running around in there at times and sleeping and cuddling at others, so I'm wondering, when would it be safe to wet the leftover membrane down just enough to get the rest of the it off? I figure at the very least a few more hours or maybe tomorrow morning? I'm in no rush as it seems that they're doing fine otherwise. Just curious. I know mama takes them to water within a day or so, but also that they can't be in the water for more than a few minutes since they're not oiled yet. Anyway, no worries, I'm not messing with them. Just wondering what you guys think.

Oh and I do have some vitamins to add to their water, and a proper feeder and waterer for them. I know to dip their beaks in water within 24 hours but that they won't eat until at least tomorrow. Since we raised their parents last year, I've just about got the duckling thing down; or at least, have some experience with that.
It was just getting to that that was the tricky part! (tytytyty!)

Here are a couple more pictures:

Hard to believe that baby fit in one of those eggs! It's amazing, really.

Oh and that towel they're on is dry and I folded it in a couple spots so they'd have something to snuggle into. It's a pretty fuzzy towel. Remember those 5 that were a cpl days behind? (probably..lol) The one that I suspected of being a late quitter, indeed was, so I removed it today once I noticed it had started to smell. They're in a rather large rubber storage bin and earlier they both were just cruzing all over the place, trippin on eggs, wedgeing themselves into corners, etc, lol, so I moved the babies to a box within a box so I could keep the other eggs that might be behind as moist as possible, while at the same time, keeping the ducklings as dry and comfortable as possible. I made sure their yolks had completely absorbed and they were mostly dry first thou.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Updates?

 

[khaosity]

Again, sorry it took me so long to update (I'm bad at this, lol). The honey kept an eye on them for me so I finally was able to get a couple hours of sleep this afternoon. He's much more interested now that they're all hatched, fluffed out, and ridiculously cute, hehehe.

Anyway, I'm happy to report that they are doing AWESOME!

Running around, cheeping loudly, drinking, eating tiny bits of green, etc. I dipped their beaks in water early, early this morning and they immediately took to it and drank as much as they could. Added the vitamins immediately after and then a few hours ago, I put some mixed greens in a blender on chop and mixed the tiny bits with their water. At first they were like, "whaa?" but they're all over it now. I just put some baby duck food (wet down) in their bin, and I figure they'll eat it when they're ready.

We have one of those thermometer temp guns, the kind that has a laser that you point and it tells you the temp of whatever it's pointed at. So I've been using that to make sure they have a range of temps to warm up or cool down. Anyway, they've been chasing it like a bug! SO. CUTE. I tried to get a video of it but the red dot doesn't show up.

Since they've been doing so well, I filled up a tupperware thingy with some very warm water and let them have a quick splash! They, of course, loved it, lol. As did we. All 3 of us (husband, roommate and myself) were lined up in front of the counter just watching in awe with these silly grins on our faces. And, of course, waiting to catch any suicide jumpers lol. 1 (ah, gotta name them soon) would get up on the bowl and jump at me! Wanted back in my shirt, I guess lol, where they've been hanging out off and on at times today, hehehe.

They dried very quickly and fluffed out nicely again after but 2 still has some membrane on her head I think. I had gently rubbed it with warm water when they were bathing and it looks a little better. But who cares, right? I'm just glad they're healthy. And so sweet! They just go limp in my hands. And then often pass out, hahaha.

Sorry the pix are kind of blurry. They were moving so fast!




Sorry it's not much of an update; I'm pretty out of it right now still, lol. Our poor, neglected dog has been so patient with me. He seems to think I just found them in the bathroom and keeps looking for where they came from! LOL

Also, I know I keep saying this, but I cannot stress enough how helpful you've all been. Thank you again! Truly!
While I don't consider this much of a success (really wishing I could have saved the others too), it wasn't a total loss either and if can, I would absolutely love to help anyone else I could in the future. I'm not on here regularly, but I'll try to keep up!

Anyway, no worries. I am extremely happy that these two made it when they otherwise wouldn't have. Thank you all for being so supportive thou. The few friends I told were pretty sad (no one was mean or anything thou) I was only able to save two, but well, I really tried.

More pictures tomorrow and a video or two if I can get my camera to behave. Thank you again (really, I can't stop) everyone! And I hope you're having as wonderful day as I am!