Here we go again - I'm hatching more goslings!!

[Iain Utah]

Chik, have they internally pipped?

 

[JulieNKC]

If it has shrink wrapped then will the high humidity its sitting in help to loosen it back up so it can internally pip?


Ugh, I have the added stress of the ducklings. Well one of them really. It has a birth defect and it hobbles on the side of its right leg. I don't know what to do with this poor thing. The geese chase them when I let them out of the pen. It's no big deal for the others because they can get away. But this poor guy cant, and they got a hold of him this morning and bloodied him a bit. It was sheer chaos in the goose village this morning. My daughter was helping me and one gander went after her, and the goose and other gander went after the ducklings. I had to make a split decision between rescuing my daughter or the poor duckling, and no mother could ignore the screams of her child. When I got to the ducking it hobbled to me as fast as it could and laid down on my foot. That just broke my heart. I don't know what to do...

How sad. How old is the duckling? I think I'd try to find it a duck only home.

 

[igotgoosed]

No, it will not loosen up without directly applying warm water. Then, the higher humidity will keep it more pliable.

Sorry about your poor duckling!! How old is he? Can you keep him separated with a calm buddy?? Have you tried polyvisol and niacin supplements?? What are you feeding him???

They are about 5-6 weeks old. They ducklings are all together, they don't bother him.They all snuggle up together and get along great. It's only when I let them out that there's an issue. I'm trying to get the geese to stop bothering them. The duck pen is inside the goose pen even, and it's too small to keep them in for too much longer.
The leg appears to be dislocated at the joint. Supplements won't help it. I know what the future holds for this poor guy. I just don't have the heart to do it...

 

[Chikn-Chik]

Chik, have they internally pipped?

I don't think so

 

[Iain Utah]

Chik, are these eggs on day 31 too? Are you seeing movement and hopefully a beak in the membrane?

FYI, now that you have externally pipped them... it is critical to maintain high humidity.

 

[Chikn-Chik]

They should be. Yes the beak is in the membrane where I can see it. I'll bump the humidity up

 

[Iain Utah]

OK! You have two babies that may need help, but you have a great shot of hatching them out in the next 24-48 hours. Main thing now is to watch that the babies can break through the inner membrane without problems and that the membrane does not shrink wrap. Any news on the remaining eggs to be checked??

 

[Marty1876]

Good luck!

Your in good hands with Iain and QuackerJack. I'm on my first goose incubation now. They sound a lot more complicated than the ducks I'm usually hatching.

Q: We're smelling something ucky around the goose egg bator. When I candle, everyone looks ok. The egg that smells, the seb most likely to give me color-has an egg from a mama who hides hers, and it is a bit dirty. I decided to give it a quick wash in 99* water. I thought it would be a good way to also do the immersion test simultaniously. It moved a lot, so i quickly (a couple of seconds) rubbed them in the warm water to wash some smell off, and then dried them and put them into a bator that was now empty. It is now isolated in a bator, just in case (don't want any explosions w/the goose and muscovey eggs). I think it smells better, but I have allergies going on. Any thoughts?? Can the dirt/uck on the shell have caused that awefull smell?

 

[Chikn-Chik]

Sorry for the long wait, I was doing just that. Had one live gosling that wasn't internally pipped, and one that wasn't alive. So for the final results, out of 35 eggs, 7 had full development, three are still alive, and the rest were rotten. I don't think that's a very good percentage. But as long as the three that are still alive make it I'll be happy. I have the humidity up to 75%, is that right?

 

[Iain Utah]

Yes. Keep it at 75%. Give them some time to internal pip on their own. We will recheck in 1-2 hours. Any baby that makes it will be wonderful!!