Help!First time duck incubation- do I assist?

[Kraemer7]

This duckling pipped the wrong end! It’s still made quite a hole and I see the beak moving around- but do I assist? It’s slowly been getting bigger over the course of the past 48 hours, but it was the first to pip and 3 others have piped, zipped and hatched in that time. How long do I let it try?

 

[BirdsBeesTrees]

Go ahead and start to assist. If it starts to bleed, stop and hold a dry paper towel on it until the bleeding stops. If it bleeds put it back into the incubator for 3-4 hours and try again.
If it doesn't bleed, open the hole up wide enough it can get through and gently pull the head out. Let it try to push out on its own.

 

[Kraemer7]

Go ahead and start to assist. If it starts to bleed, stop and hold a dry paper towel on it until the bleeding stops. If it bleeds put it back into the incubator for 3-4 hours and try again.
If it doesn't bleed, open the hole up wide enough it can get through and gently pull the head out. Let it try to push out on its own.

Thank you! I helped a little making the hole bigger but it did start to bleed a little. I wiped it up and put the egg back in the incubator. That was around midnight. When I woke up this morning it had hatched. The duck is still damp so it must have been not that long ago. Glad I assisted and that it was able to work itself out! Tough duckling!

 

[BirdsBeesTrees]

Sounds good, I'm glad your duckling hatched.