my duckling crossed the rainbow bridge :(

[chickmomma03]

Everything was fine last night. No temp spike etc. My duck was due to hatch. Tonight I checked only to discover that my duckling died some time between last night and tonight. I did an "eggtopsy". The membrane was thick (way thicker than I've seen, there was NO sign of shrink wrap or anything else, just a very thick membrane), everything else looked great. Duckling was fully developed,no deformities or defects (abdomen properly closed, legs/feet/wings/beak etc all looked great, wasn't overly small), nothing, and air sac was good too. I am heart broken, and my son is crushed. It was my first incubation ever, and I am positive the duckling didn't survive (veins disappeared). If I would have just went ahead and helped the duckling hatch it would have had a fighting chance. I am kicking myself in the *** for it. The duckling was in perfect position and was moving around last night. I gave the sweet little baby a proper burial in the front yard next to the greybeard bush (yes, I was outside at 10:45pm burying). I just can't even right now, I'm devastated.

 

[BantyChooks]

oh noo! so sorry for you.

 

[Orca5094]

So sorry for your loss. Sometimes these things just happen, even if the conditions in the incubator were perfect. Sometimes they just have something wrong internally that we have no control over. Again, so sorry.

 

[Miss Lydia]

So sorry for your loss.

 

[chickmomma03]

Quote: I think the poor duckling couldn't pip out of the membrane (so I assume duckie drown). I didn't take pictures, and maybe I should have, but I didn't. The membrane was thick though. Not even remotely see through. It wasn't dried out at all, it wasn't shrink wrapped to duckie either. There was a little fluid in there with the duckling, but I had assumed that was normal. Maybe my humidity was too high?