Help pls. Duck hatching

[MGG]

Sorry @HopMomma ! I had a busy morning. You got good advice, esp. from Trisseh. She posted some good links too. If you have any other questions feel free to ask.

 

[HopMomma]

You can definitely take out your hatched baby and put it into the pre-warmed brooder. It’s actually the best time to open the incubator when the humidity spikes from one hatching. That’s the time that you can assess everyone else.
I also would not recommend putting wet paper towel directly on any eggs, although you can use it inside the incubator to increase humidity if needed.
I also don’t recommend assisting as mentioned as you can kill chicks and ducklings by helping before they’re ready. By removing shell you leave the duckling nothing to push against to hatch and you will definitely have to be there all the way through to make sure it escapes the membrane. If they have air available, leave them be. They’ll come on their own time, and interfering too early can mean unabsorbed yolks, excessive bleeding, and death. If you feel comfortable assisting if necessary, first read through the assisted hatching guide and the other guide to hatching linked below - they will help you as you proceed and assist you in not doing more harm than good.

Assisted hatching guide

Hatching and incubation guide

Ok thank you that was helpful. So my one that pipped externally needs help I think. It broke through the wrong end and hasn't made any new progress in 40hours. I'm worried. I can see its beak moving but again its scrunched at the wrong end. What if I help and there is blood? Do I apply pressure? It's so squished I feel terrible.

 

[Trisseh]

Ok thank you that was helpful. So my one that pipped externally needs help I think. It broke through the wrong end and hasn't made any new progress in 40hours. I'm worried. I can see its beak moving but again its scrunched at the wrong end. What if I help and there is blood? Do I apply pressure? It's so squished I feel terrible.

If it pipped on the wrong end, they take even longer (often twice as long!) because they complete both an internal and an external pip in one go. I had one that took 3 days to hatch from external pip on the wrong end. (With assistance once it was ready.) Can you see the bill? If it’s making chewing motions or yawning, it’s still absorbing. Don’t mess with it as long as it can breathe, but keep your humidity up in the incubator and keep on waiting. a few problems that you may find in this situation would include the duckling turning but not zipping the shell, the membrane getting dried out and stuck so the duckling can’t turn, or the membrane drying down over the duckling’s bill. If you’re concerned about the membrane drying out you can carefully apply a little coconut oil or antibiotic ointment (without pain relief) to the membrane, but you have to be very careful not to get it on the ducklings nostrils and drown it. Sometimes they hatch fine on their own, and sometimes they need help, but if it’s still chewing, it’s not ready.

 

[HopMomma]

If it pipped on the wrong end, they take even longer (often twice as long!) because they complete both an internal and an external pip in one go. I had one that took 3 days to hatch from external pip on the wrong end. (With assistance once it was ready.) Can you see the bill? If it’s making chewing motions or yawning, it’s still absorbing. Don’t mess with it as long as it can breathe, but keep your humidity up in the incubator and keep on waiting. a few problems that you may find in this situation would include the duckling turning but not zipping the shell, the membrane getting dried out and stuck so the duckling can’t turn, or the membrane drying down over the duckling’s bill. If you’re concerned about the membrane drying out you can carefully apply a little coconut oil or antibiotic ointment (without pain relief) to the membrane, but you have to be very careful not to get it on the ducklings nostrils and drown it. Sometimes they hatch fine on their own, and sometimes they need help, but if it’s still chewing, it’s not ready.

Oh my lanta your amazing. It is still opening its mouth, not chirping but alive. I can see it clearly so I will leave it be. Humidity it at 80% ventilation at 50% temp 98

 

[MGG]

Oh my lanta your amazing. It is still opening its mouth, not chirping but alive. I can see it clearly so I will leave it be. Humidity it at 80% ventilation at 50% temp 98

What do you mean ventilation at 50%? I would open all vents. I know it's harder to maintain humidity with them all open but the hatching babies need a lot of air.

 

[HopMomma]

What do you mean ventilation at 50%? I would open all vents. I know it's harder to maintain humidity with them all open but the hatching babies need a lot of air.

I do have all the vents open sorry. All the plugs are removed.

 

[Trisseh]

I do have all the vents open sorry. All the plugs are removed.

Hatching babies definitely need as much air exchange as possible, so that’s good. Also keep an eye on your temp, because it will often spike when these guys get in position and start hatching. If it’s at 98 for now it should be ok. But keep an eye on it. too cool isn’t good either, it makes them sluggish and slow to get going.

 

[Friendly_Lurker]

If it's not wet enough, the membrane will dry out. Also candle them to make sure they're right side up.

 

[HopMomma]

You can definitely take out your hatched baby and put it into the pre-warmed brooder. It’s actually the best time to open the incubator when the humidity spikes from one hatching. That’s the time that you can assess everyone else.
I also would not recommend putting wet paper towel directly on any eggs, although you can use it inside the incubator to increase humidity if needed.
I also don’t recommend assisting as mentioned as you can kill chicks and ducklings by helping before they’re ready. By removing shell you leave the duckling nothing to push against to hatch and you will definitely have to be there all the way through to make sure it escapes the membrane. If they have air available, leave them be. They’ll come on their own time, and interfering too early can mean unabsorbed yolks, excessive bleeding, and death. If you feel comfortable assisting if necessary, first read through the assisted hatching guide and the other guide to hatching linked below - they will help you as you proceed and assist you in not doing more harm than good.

Assisted hatching guide

Hatching and incubation guide

Ok so this one has its wing over its head and is still opening and closing its beak when I peep at it but its wing is concerning me. Should I wait it out another few hours? It's been 48+ hours since this external breakage.

 

[Trisseh]

Ok so this one has its wing over its head and is still opening and closing its beak when I peep at it but its wing is concerning me. Should I wait it out another few hours? It's been 48+ hours since this external breakage.

They’re supposed to have their head tucked under their wing, probably just shifted as it was chewing etc. Did it take that shell off or did you? as long as it can breathe it’s ok. Sometimes when they’re ready but can’t quite arrange themselves properly, they start flailing and screaming, so if it’s quietly sitting there chewing and yawning, it probably still just needs more time. If you’re going to start investigating, the best thing to do is to make a hole in the air cell end to see what’s going on with the veins and things. Some people bring the egg into the bathroom with the shower running to keep the humidity up. (Don’t bring the egg into the shower itself, but having it running makes the humidity jump in the room. Lol). I don’t usually and haven’t had any issues, but if you’re concerned about the humidity, that’s one way you can keep it up outside of the incubator. Follow the assisted hatching guide, make a hole in the air cell end carefully, moisten the membrane and check for active vessels or if you can see yolk still. If you want to take a pic of it and share it, that’s fine too. Always start any assistance from the air cell, even though it’s pipped the wrong end.