Helping a malpositioned duckling

[megka03]

Hi, I’ve been a long time follower so I’m hoping someone can help me. First duck hatch in the incubator. I’ve had a lot of chicken hatches but this is my first duck. I’ve assisted some malpositioned chicks with great success but I’m unsure about ducks timeline. One egg externally pipped on day 26, wrong end, but no clear hole in the membrane, just cracked and pushed out shell. I left it for 32 hours with no change so tonight I gave it an air hole in the membrane. I was able to open it enough to see beak so I know he’s attempting to exit the wrong end of the egg. I moistened the membrane and did see blood so I stopped and put it back in the incubator. He’s very active, egg is wiggling and little beak is going. How long do I wait between attempts to assist? I’m really torn between letting nature do it’s thing and giving him a good attempt at getting out. Do I give it 2-4 hours and attempt to break a bit more shell away? 6-8 hours? I want to give him enough time to make sure the blood vessels empty and he absorbs the yolk, but I don’t want him to die from exhaustion if I could help him. Thanks for any insight! Oh, temps remained steady at 99.5 during incubation, humidity was around 65 since lockdown but I’ve upped it to 72 with the membrane exposed for so long. Membrane is very tough and dry. We’re entering day 28.

 

[sumi]

Ducklings need 2-3 days to hatch usually, so I wouldn't rush to get it out just yet. How many hours has it been now since you saw the pip?

 

[megka03]

First pip was 48 hours ago. I gave him an air hole about 12 hours ago. Just checked and there’s no change, but he’s chirping yet. Membrane is very brown.

 

[sumi]

I'll give it another 12 hours before I start assisting, as long as baby is happy and doesn't show signs of distress or fatigue.

In the meantime, get some warm water (not hot!) and some q-tips and carefully dampen the membrane. Make sure you don't over wet it and watch out for little bill and nostrils. I sometimes give the little ones a little rub down with the wet q-tip too, while I'm at it. They love it The key is now to keep everything damp, so the poor thing don't get stuck in there. Depending on its position in there, it may be able to hatch when it's ready with a little more assistance. But for now, we need to give it enough time to finish absorbing its yolk first and that is a bit of a guessing game!

 

[megka03]

Thank you so much! Man I love this site. I took the day off work so I’ll be able to keep an eye on him! I’ll keep you posted

 

[sumi]

You're welcome! Please do keep us posted. I think some more hatchers will start coming online sometime soon now (I'm in Ireland, so I'm hours ahead of you all) We'll keep an eye out for you and advice when needed it's a nerve wrecking situation, assisting and malpositioned babies. I had a whopping 11 of them last weekend (Shipped eggs)

 

[megka03]

It was a long day! Lots of patience, assisting and waiting but he’s out and doing great!

 

[casportpony]

It was a long day! Lots of patience, assisting and waiting but he’s out and doing great!

Congrats, he's adorable! You did a wonderful job assisting!

 

[sumi]

Well done! Cute little thing