Incubator & movement in egg. - RIP Chip/Chipette

[WhiteCrested]

That actually sounds good to use. Thanks for the information ! Just have to wait now for the baby to hatch

 

[WhiteCrested]

I went to the incubator to turn the other eggs while I left the one farthest along alone, & I noticed a dark smudge looking thing on it :



Any idea of what this is? The baby inside is still chirping like usual and it is still pecking at its shell.
I think (and I am no expert), that the baby pecked enough through the first layer of the egg and now working on the shell.
Any ideas of what it is, PLEASE tell me.
Thanks.

 

[WhiteCrested]

I just woke up and it still has the black spot. I will be checking to see if it's chirping in a few minutes.

 

[WhiteCrested]

Yep, it is still chirping like usual. Its responding to when I talk to it, and it's still pecking at the shell but it doesn't seem like hard pushes, just little taps. Even though the egg moves a bit, in the incubator it doesn't move much.

 

[Miss Lydia]

I went to the incubator to turn the other eggs while I left the one farthest along alone, & I noticed a dark smudge looking thing on it :



Any idea of what this is? The baby inside is still chirping like usual and it is still pecking at its shell.
I think (and I am no expert), that the baby pecked enough through the first layer of the egg and now working on the shell.
Any ideas of what it is, PLEASE tell me.
Thanks.

Looks normal to me, the membrane still looks good not dry so that is a big plus. Thats one reason not to open bator lid if humidity drops membrane dries and starts to look papery then duckling won't be able to break out. Have you ever open a duck egg, very tough it will take a while before you see the duckling. one reason not to help is the baby is absorbing all blood veins and yolk if you assist before it is actually ready you could hit a blood vessel and cause the duckling to bleed out or rupture the yolk. Just try to relax and DON"T sit in front of the bator, try and find something to do, keep giving updates especially if you feel something is wrong, that way those that have experience with assisting hatches can jump in and help you.

 

[WhiteCrested]

I'm actually on my computer close to it while it's chirping and all. It has made some progress though: it has FINALLY pipped into the external shell. But now it's been about an hour with no further success of getting out. I've watched it like hit the same spot where it has gotten through but nothing more yet. I WILL keep you all up to date with everything that happens. I'll try to post pictures along the way.

 

[WhiteCrested]

And this is a picture of how far along we are :




I have not heard any sounds from the incubator in about 20 minutes, maybe it's resting? Not sure.

 

[WhiteCrested]

It's now about 6:50 PM here and the egg still hasn't moved or done any more work on the pipped part. Is this usual for them? Is he/she just saving up their energy for when it finally breaks through? Maybe it's resting? I don't hear any chirping from it either so I thought it was resting. I'm worried it will hatch in the middle of the night and be uncomfortable in 99.5 degree incubator by itself. So my overall question is: Is this normal for no response from the egg after making a hole in the shell and now maybe resting?
Thanks !

 

[Iain Utah]

Nicely done on your duckling's part. The dark blue-ish staining is from your duckling hitting a vein in the inner membrane when pipping. Normally that is a bad sign. However your duck is almost in normal hatching position and the fact that it externally pipped is excellent. External pipping takes a lot of work and your ducky will go through a deep rest afterwards. Usually after about 12 hours, it will start to get more active and eventually emerge from the shell 18-24 hours after it externally pipped.

It is extremely important that your humidity stay above 75% as the inner membrane is now exposed to the outer environment and will dry up and shrink wrap baby if it does not stay really moist inside incubator.

Best of luck!!

 

[WhiteCrested]

Thank you for the WONDERFUL information !
My only problem now is that my humidity is at 72% but all the trays are almost all full, will it be okay at 72% or should I risk it for a second and open the incubator to add maybe some more?
Very excited for tomorrow, should be pipping tomorrow morning at 1 AM and be finish between 7 AM - 1 PM (approximately).
Thanks !