Help! I think I hurt hatching duckling

L0rraine

Crowing
16 Years
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I've had a duckling trying to find its way out for most of the day and much of the outer shell was gone, but the white inner layer was all there still stuck on the duckling. This is in a nest not an incubator. I tried to peel just enough back to get the bill out, but immediately it started to bleed. Momma duck flew at me and I dropped the duckling back in the nest. She immediately covered it up, but it appeared it's still covered with membrane, but there was a lot of blood and I'm worried about what I've done, but hesitate to take another look for awhile. I thought all the eggs were bad (everyone I've candled has been bad) and was just about give up and take the remaining four away, when finally this one started to hatch. Why do I try?, except I've lost them when I've left them alone as well, but I guess it really is better to let nature take its course. It seems like every time they take more than a day after they start to zip, I lose them, one way or another, but I know there are those that do make it after struggling for a couple of days.
 
How much blood? If its a few droplets it'll probably be ok. Leave it 6 hours and take another peek. Ducklings take days to go from pip to hatch in the incubator and probably in the nest too, its probably just not quite finished absorbing the yolk and closing off the blood vessels. Let us know what happens!
 
Well I took one quick peek under Mom (and got a nasty bite in the process - WELL DESERVED I must say). The duckling is still alive (looks like the yoke sack is almost completely absorbed), but it is awfully little and frail looking still. I'm going to hope for the best overnight but probably expect the worst. Guess the fact that it made it this long is somewhat hopeful. Every time I go through this, I swear I'm going to learn to leave things alone (but that hasn't necessary worked out well for me either). Still there are no excuses. I'm guessing that little yoke sack is there to give the ducklings extra strength to get them through the long hatch process and I need to try to always remember that in future hatches.
 

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