CarterCrazy
In the Brooder
- May 26, 2015
- 36
- 2
- 34
My Indian Runner and Peking both laid eggs around the same time. Indian Runner was a good girl and sat on her nest the whole time, resulting in 9 healthy, happy babies. Peking, of course, sat for a little bit, but was more interested in running around the yard than tending to her nest. I think after the Runner's babies made their grand appearance, my Peking got jealous, or put 2 and 2 together and realized her mistake. Or I'm reading into this far too much...
At any rate, she laid a bunch more eggs and sat on them religiously for the last several weeks. I was surprised with 4 ducklings yesterday that she managed to hatch herself. She took them out into the yard, and abandoned the rest of her eggs in the nest under my shed (she previously was laying them in her coop where they belong, but I guess she wanted to be different this time).
When I collected the eggs, I noticed one was pipped through. I watched him for several hours before intervening. Granted, I know now that I stepped in too soon. He ended up in an incubator along with the rest of the eggs. I posted yesterday for help with him, and he's doing pretty fine this morning. Yolk absorbed, he's walking around in the incubator some. While I was outside tending to the others, another duckling pipped and hatched. I was blown away! Went outside with one duckling in there, came back and there was two? LOL He's active, but has wry neck. I've got him in his own box now, and he's even more active than he was last night, but that neck is hard to look at. I'm supplementing his water with niacin. He can drink and eat on his own, but runs circles around in his box. Hoping to see improvement.
Now here's the new stuff. I noticed today that someone is pipping internally! I saw just the smallest, teeniest 'eruption' on the shell, but not a hole, just a crack that kind of pushes up the smallest bit. I put the egg to my ear and I can hear the baby in there!!! Peep peep! I don't want to screw up and intervene and have to deal with the panic of watching a relatively lifeless duckling lay on the floor of the incubator absorbing a yolk for the next day, but I also don't want the duckling that I know is alive in there to perish.
Is there a timeline of sorts that I should be aware of? I know that IF I were to intervene at all, it would just be to peel back the hard shell layer a bit, and let him do the rest. But how long does it normally take before you see external pipping after it's become apparent that they are in there breathing and peeping? This is so nerve wracking! Considering the first 4 were hatched and running around the yard at 9am yesterday, I'm shocked to see that there are still viable babies in there trying to make their way out into the world. I thought once they started hatching, they would either all be done within 12-24 hours, or I'd have a bunch of dead in shell babies, but maybe not?
I have a book about raising ducks. It doesn't cover any of this. So I appreciate your help!
At any rate, she laid a bunch more eggs and sat on them religiously for the last several weeks. I was surprised with 4 ducklings yesterday that she managed to hatch herself. She took them out into the yard, and abandoned the rest of her eggs in the nest under my shed (she previously was laying them in her coop where they belong, but I guess she wanted to be different this time).
When I collected the eggs, I noticed one was pipped through. I watched him for several hours before intervening. Granted, I know now that I stepped in too soon. He ended up in an incubator along with the rest of the eggs. I posted yesterday for help with him, and he's doing pretty fine this morning. Yolk absorbed, he's walking around in the incubator some. While I was outside tending to the others, another duckling pipped and hatched. I was blown away! Went outside with one duckling in there, came back and there was two? LOL He's active, but has wry neck. I've got him in his own box now, and he's even more active than he was last night, but that neck is hard to look at. I'm supplementing his water with niacin. He can drink and eat on his own, but runs circles around in his box. Hoping to see improvement.
Now here's the new stuff. I noticed today that someone is pipping internally! I saw just the smallest, teeniest 'eruption' on the shell, but not a hole, just a crack that kind of pushes up the smallest bit. I put the egg to my ear and I can hear the baby in there!!! Peep peep! I don't want to screw up and intervene and have to deal with the panic of watching a relatively lifeless duckling lay on the floor of the incubator absorbing a yolk for the next day, but I also don't want the duckling that I know is alive in there to perish.
Is there a timeline of sorts that I should be aware of? I know that IF I were to intervene at all, it would just be to peel back the hard shell layer a bit, and let him do the rest. But how long does it normally take before you see external pipping after it's become apparent that they are in there breathing and peeping? This is so nerve wracking! Considering the first 4 were hatched and running around the yard at 9am yesterday, I'm shocked to see that there are still viable babies in there trying to make their way out into the world. I thought once they started hatching, they would either all be done within 12-24 hours, or I'd have a bunch of dead in shell babies, but maybe not?
I have a book about raising ducks. It doesn't cover any of this. So I appreciate your help!