huge duckling in egg, trying to get out

[duckyfei]

I see a ton of egg goo on baby
The yolk looks to be gone just a bit swollen tummy ( normal )
Can you get that goo off baby
Warm wash cloth
It will harden like cement
I had this happen once at the school hatch
We had to keep washing baby till we got it all off

all done. It’s paddling around, legs don’t seem to work. the belly also has an open wound and it is not moving well. it’s a little fighter, but it has cataracts and doesn’t react to any light at all. i’m 90% sure it’s blind, but i’ve never brought up a blind duckling before and i have brought up and imprinted one, at that.

I’m extremely worried and losing hours of sleep over this, what could i do

 

[NatJ]

I’m extremely worried and losing hours of sleep over this, what could i do

At present, it probably needs the same things as any other duckling in the first few hours: to stay the correct temperature, finish drying off, take a lot of naps, and flop around practicing how to use its muscles.

Since it just absorbed the yolk, there is no need to worry about feeding and watering just yet. I would not provide a water dish at present, because it's more likely to drown than to drink.

You might just make sure it's safe and has the correct temperature, and do other things for a few hours (take a nap, or go to work, or do the dishes & laundry, or whatever else your day calls for.)

It’s paddling around, legs don’t seem to work. the belly also has an open wound and it is not moving well. it’s a little fighter, but it has cataracts and doesn’t react to any light at all. i’m 90% sure it’s blind, but i’ve never brought up a blind duckling before and i have brought up and imprinted one, at that.

Some of that may be normal for a just-hatched duckling, rather than indicating a problem.

But if it does have as many problems as you think, there may be internal problems as well. Raising it might be difficult, or might even be impossible.

It's still too early to really be sure. So start with the obvious (safe place, correct temperature), and re-asses regularly to see how it's doing.

 

[New duck mommy 2021]

I can’t comment on the eyes as I myself have not dealt with that type of thing and don’t want to give wrong advice
I agree with the other poster baby will take awhile to stop flopping around
They need to stay really warm at this point
You can take a picture of the belly but usually it looks a bit open like a pin hole at first or will have a tiny scab like thing for a few days like a small plug attached
No water or food yet
They usually don’t eat or drink for 24 hours

 

[New duck mommy 2021]

@HollowOfWisps
@casportpony
Can you guys take a look at the pictures. If you scroll in I can see the eyes do have a film to them
I also see liquid in the nares
I’m not familiar with these things and scared to give wrong advice

 

[DuckyDonna]

If you've got a little syringe use it to try to suction out the nares. Otherwise, leave it alone for a bit to recover from the hatching experience.

 

[Miss Lydia]

What about putting the duckling inside a small bowl on a soft wash cloth or paper towel to protect the belly in case the yolk still isn't completely inside.

 

[HollowOfWisps]

I agree with the cup also if you have any original Neosporin take a Q tip and dab it right where the umbilical cord was. When a duckling hatches with unabsorbed yolk there is a higher chance of it becoming infected until it fully heals up. As far as the eyes go it's hard to tell from the pictures it might be blind or the other possibility is that some membrane dried on and stuck. I have had several ducklings hatch with small piece of the membrane that dried to the eye when hatching and it does look like they are almost blind. I use Terramycin on a Q tip to remove the membrane for those ducklings.