Help!! Hatch Day Questions!!

[MissD]

I am hatching Call and Cayuga ducklings with my 2nd grade students. I have done this in the past and never had to help a duckling hatch. I would like to be prepared though if need be. How do I know when to help? How do I do it? Thanks!!!!

 

[chkinut]

wow, this is a controversial subject. some say help, others say let nature take it's course cuz if you help it it's probably a weak/sick chick anyway....then again there have been success stories with ones that have been helped. SO.....it's a chance u take....i know there are others on this site that can actually help you with the process of it (tell you exactly what to do). i have never actually had experience with it personally....although i DO know what to do if i were to decide to help a chick. i am going to try NOT to help....cuz if somethings seriously wrong with the chick, i do not want to have to go through culling it.

on the other hand...my heart would break if i knew one was having trouble and the peeping kept getting slower...and slower! it's a hard call.

 

[4-H chicken mom]

I just helped one of my BEI out of the shell. It pipped then 24hrs later it started to make a bigger hole. By the time it hit the 36 hr mark it had a hole about an inch long and I thought it was on it's way. 6 hrs later nothing more was happening. I took a flashlight so I could see in the hole and noticed the duckling was now being shrink wrapped. I took a pair of forcepts and carefully pulled the shell away from the hole. I didn't have to worry about hiting any veins because there wasn't anything connected to the shell. It was an empty shell space. I finished taking the top off the egg and could see that all the veins were dry up. I took a syringe with warm water and put a few drops on the membrane to soften it up. Starting at the beak, I was able to carefully peel away the membrane and just drape it down over the bottom of the egg. Once the duckling can get it's head out, I put it back in the bator for it to finish pushing out. They usually are able to finish. I have had to put a little warm water on the backs of some that hatched on their own but couldn't break free from the shell because it was like glued to it's back.
Good luck and hopefully this will all be a mute point.