New to BYC..

[ashleycharrette]

 

[sumi]

Make a little hole right at the end of the egg, just big enough so you can see in there and have a look.

 

[ashleycharrette]

How do I do that? ugh... this is stressing me out.

 

[sumi]

First of all, relax. Take a deep breath and calm down. Shaking hands are not going to do any good now

Get a sharp object, like a nail or a small drill bit and score an X on the shell. Keep scoring it until you can get in. Then take a pair of tweezers and carefully break little bits of the shell, just tiny little bits. Remove enough of the white membrane so you can see in. Don't go near the inner membrane and watch out for the gosling!

 

[ashleycharrette]

Ok well I made a small hole in the top of the egg.. I can see him.. he's moving.. and breathing.. now what do i do?

 

[sumi]

Did you see anything unusual in there, or blood? If everything looks normal you can just leave him like that for now and make sure the humidity stays above 60%. Do you know more or less how many hours it's been since you first noticed the internal pip? They could take around 48 from there to finish absorbing the yolk, sometimes longer.

 

[ashleycharrette]

I didn't see any blood. It's been over or close to 24 hours since he internal pipped

 

[sumi]

O.K. I work on this time frame: It takes on average 24 hours from internal pip to external pip (which is sort-of where you are now), then it takes, again, on average, 24 hours before the duckling starts zipping the shell and eventually completes the hatch. Now you've got an (artificial) external pip and the duckling can breathe, which is all it needs now. Wait another 24 hours (or longer) and see if it creates another pip hole so it can start zipping. If it doesn't you can start assisting, but it will be better to give him plenty time to attempt hatching by itself first. I know it's nerve wrecking and it can feel like they're never going to hatch, but be patient and relax. You are doing great!

What's happening with the rest of the eggs?

 

[ashleycharrette]

The rest have internal pipped but I think the greying in this one freaked me out the most. Thank you so much for he help!

 

[sumi]

You're welcome