I've had several perfectly healthy babies die because I helped...and several perfectly healthy babies die because I didn't help. I have learned a lot throughout that process. It's very sad either way. Here are a few things Ive learned to help prevent that type of trauma/unnecessary death.
1. As long as the duckling can breathe thru the hole, it will be okay. No need to rush. Have patience in knowing that hatching eggs in an incubator isn't a natural process & that there are going to be variations in how each duckling hatches.
2. You can use a clean paintbrush dipped in warm sterile water to moisten it's little bill & membrane around it's face.
Be careful not to get water up it's nose or it could drown (happened to me = very sad). Put egg in incubator where it has freedom to roll & move while attempting to hatch.
3.
Duckling needs time to fully absorb the yolk sac into its abdomen before fully hatching or will likely bleed to death if you peel back the soft inner membrane. The trouble with this is that you can't tell if the yolk sac has been fully absorbed & if the the ducklings abdomen is closed from outside of the shell. Blood vessels dry up & deattach from the ducklings abdomen after yolk is absorbed & hole in abdomen closes up. These blood vessels can easily be broken by your hands when messing with the inner membrane. (
I made that mistake last year & several of our beautiful ducklings bled to death within minutes!)
4. If baby hasn't made progress after a day or two, you can carefully peel back the top half of the HARD shell with your fingernails a little at a time, while being very careful not to rupture inner membrane.
5.
STOP halfway down the egg, so the lower half of the shell, where the baby's rump would be, remains covered with hard shell. Moisten exposed inner membrane. Return to incubator.
WHY is this important?
Any remaining yolk sac & major blood vessels will be in the area between the ducklings legs. Once the duckling naturally breaks through the part of the soft inner membrane that you exposed, you will be able to see if the duckling still has yolk sac left to absorb.
If so, that hard shell around the babys bottom will support the yolk sac & blood vessels, until the ducklings abdomen is fully closed.
Removing the entire hard shell makes it easy for the duckling to bust out of the entire inner membrane before yolk sac is fully absorbed.
When this happens, the duckling will be left to drag around the entire inner membrane while it is still attached to it's open abdomen, leaving it vulnerable to infection & rupture (bleeding to death through severed vessels).
If this happens, wrap a sterile gauze around the lower half of the duckling, return to incubator & closely monitor for the next couple days. No food necessary. It's getting it's nutrition through the yolk sac. You could cause harm if you attempt to feed it at this time.
6. If accidental rupture of blood vessels occur, you can carefully tie off the ducklings umbilical cord with dental floss. You must be quick. It will bleed to death in seconds & will go into shock from being so cold. A warm hairdryer nearby helps or heating pad.
Do not lay new baby ducklings on heating pad with lid unsupervised. It will cook them/kill them. Very sad.
Aside from these unsettling lessons Ive learned over the years, I enjoy the process of bringing new life into the world. Ducks are adorable creatures & a joy to have. Good luck!
