How long do you wait until you intervene?

[sjohns20680]

I have a Blue swed that has had his bill out for about 5 hours and I am not seeing much progress. I lost one in the past for not intervening sooner but don't want to jump the gun either. He is peeping pretty good still. There is another egg that is pipped and one little duck already hatched running around. I hate to open the hatcher but I don't want to stand by and just do nothing either, hope the attached picture helps...

 

[Miss Lydia]

I have a Blue swed that has had his bill out for about 5 hours and I am not seeing much progress. I lost one in the past for not intervening sooner but don't want to jump the gun either. He is peeping pretty good still. There is another egg that is pipped and one little duck already hatched running around. I hate to open the hatcher but I don't want to stand by and just do nothing either, hope the attached picture helps...

It can take quiet a while for them to hatch, the work on zipping then they rest it can take a total of 36 hrs from internal pip to zip so as long as your hearing strong peeps I'd wait it out, if you help too soon it can cause bleeding which isn't good and if you open the hatcher you risk shrink wrapping the duckling.

 

[sjohns20680]

He has been sitting there like this for hours now. He was peeping quite loudly but not so much anymore. He isn't inside the egg zipping at all. Just sitting there with his Bill hanging out. I don't know what is going on...everything has been going fine and now he is just hanging out and the other egg with a little external pip has stopped from what I can see any movement at all....This went from a fun exciting day to one of stomach wrenching fretting.

 

[Miss Lydia]

He has been sitting there like this for hours now. He was peeping quite loudly but not so much anymore. He isn't inside the egg zipping at all. Just sitting there with his Bill hanging out. I don't know what is going on...everything has been going fine and now he is just hanging out and the other egg with a little external pip has stopped from what I can see any movement at all....This went from a fun exciting day to one of stomach wrenching fretting.

With it's bill out it is able to breathe so hopefully just resting, if you help too soon you run the risk of it bleeding to death, what happens when you talk or whistle?

 

[sjohns20680]

Nothing anymore. He used to chat right back at me and now even when I tap the box, nothing. He was VERY chatty this morning. I'm afraid I'm losing him.

 

[sjohns20680]

I'm literally tearing up. He was so healthy and frisky this morning. I figured he would be out in an hour or so...

 

[shicks0211]

did you help him yet? sometimes when it seems like theyre struggling..i break a couple SMALL pieces from around where he's already broken...usually that gets them going again and they break right out.

 

[sjohns20680]

I did try to help a little but I'm afraid he hasn't done anymore for himself. I pretty much cleared the shell around his head. I then placed him back in the bator on a wet paper towel in the hopes of keeping the moisture up. That was about an hour or so ago. He is still just kind of hanging out. I heard peeping in there but there is another one working on hatching and I don't know which one was peeping. I would feel better if I saw him peep because he was very vocal this morning. Quite the big mouth really. I am so depressed and torn as to what to do. This is my first experience with incubating anything and I'm just a wreck. I have successfully hatched out 8 so far including a Call Duck, but every single one is personal to me and I have really bonded with this one. Any advice is so appreciated. I read the whole "Hatch Day" thread but saw nothing that calms my fears.

 

[decomposed]

i helped one of my rooster chicks out of the egg a few months ago it had started peeping and broken a little hole in the egg the night before and hadn't hatched at 4 pm the next day and had stopped moving and making any noise if it stops moving and making noises i would help it hatch i had to feed the rooster i hatched with a syringe for a few days he couldn't even move because he was so exhausted from trying to break out of the egg so if u decide to hatch it and it doesn't start moving or walking by itself u might have to get some of the egg and biscuit mix for baby birds they usually sell at supermarkets mix it with warm water put it into a clean syringe if you have one or just use a spoon if you dont and drop food into the babies mouth every few hours for a few days until it starts walking that's exactly what i did and my rooster turned out fine i'm sure it would work for a duck

 

[Miss Lydia]

I did try to help a little but I'm afraid he hasn't done anymore for himself. I pretty much cleared the shell around his head. I then placed him back in the bator on a wet paper towel in the hopes of keeping the moisture up. That was about an hour or so ago. He is still just kind of hanging out. I heard peeping in there but there is another one working on hatching and I don't know which one was peeping. I would feel better if I saw him peep because he was very vocal this morning. Quite the big mouth really. I am so depressed and torn as to what to do. This is my first experience with incubating anything and I'm just a wreck. I have successfully hatched out 8 so far including a Call Duck, but every single one is personal to me and I have really bonded with this one. Any advice is so appreciated. I read the whole "Hatch Day" thread but saw nothing that calms my fears.

Very carefully start chipping away egg shell a tiny bit at a time then a little tiny bit of membrane if you see any blood stop and put the duckling back in bator. let it rest a while and start again. you have to use your gut feelings at times like this your the only one there who can see and really knows what's going on, so you have to make the ultimate decision.