Should I help this hatchling????

[Krazyquilts]

Just checked again on the eggs still in the nest and two more have pipped!!! I'm leaving them in there for now because I feel bad taking all her babies away, but I'm going to be monitoring them very closely.

 

[Miss Lydia]

@WVduckchick is a good one to have on hand with hatching like this.

I hope the duckling hatch and are okay.

 

[WVduckchick]

I'm not saying to do it yet, but the one with so much shell missing will definitely have to be assisted when the time is right.
See, as they normally spin and zip the egg, they are pressing against the other side of the egg. This duckling now has nothing to press against, no resistance, so you will have to do it.

watch for the veins in the membrane to become very thin, basically transparent. You will want to start where the air cell is/was. The pic looks fairly sloshy inside there, and in my experience, there's a reason she kicked it out of the nest. But it's always worth the shot of trying, as long as you are prepared that something "could" be wrong with the development. Broodies use their instincts!

Oh and as you found out, oil stays moist much longer than water, and also makes the membrane nice and clear.

best of luck!

 

[Krazyquilts]

I'm not saying to do it yet, but the one with so much shell missing will definitely have to be assisted when the time is right.
See, as they normally spin and zip the egg, they are pressing against the other side of the egg. This duckling now has nothing to press against, no resistance, so you will have to do it.

watch for the veins in the membrane to become very thin, basically transparent. You will want to start where the air cell is/was. The pic looks fairly sloshy inside there, and in my experience, there's a reason she kicked it out of the nest. But it's always worth the shot of trying, as long as you are prepared that something "could" be wrong with the development. Broodies use their instincts!

Oh and as you found out, oil stays moist much longer than water, and also makes the membrane nice and clear.

best of luck!

Thank you so very much for your advice!

I reapplied the vegetable oil because the membrane looked like it was starting to dry out, and the whole time I was holding it etc there was no movement. Not looking good. I'll keep checking on it though and will report my findings. If the other eggs hatch and this one doesn't, then I'll open it up and take photos.

Any thoughts on why this might have happened and what I can do to prevent it in the future?

 

[WVduckchick]

Thank you so very much for your advice!

I reapplied the vegetable oil because the membrane looked like it was starting to dry out, and the whole time I was holding it etc there was no movement. Not looking good. I'll keep checking on it though and will report my findings. If the other eggs hatch and this one doesn't, then I'll open it up and take photos.

Any thoughts on why this might have happened and what I can do to prevent it in the future?

There are many possibilities under broodies! How many eggs did she have? Was she able to cover them all well? Parent stock has to be considered. Weather and where was she sitting? If the egg had a slight crack, like if she accidentally banged 2 together, it could have gotten infected. Or sometimes they just don't develop properly. Nobody's fault. And that's just a partial list!

 

[Krazyquilts]

So it definitely died. :-( I removed a bit of the shell at the opposite end just in case, but it was dead.

On a brighter note, the first duckling of the clutch just hatched!

 

[mobius]

Aww so sorry you lost that little one! I think there was just too much shell gone, in my uneducated opinion!

But the new baby in the video is adorable, thanks! Best of luck with the rest of your hatch and let us know how it goes.

 

[Krazyquilts]

So far three have hatched and are all dry and fluffy and the fourth has worked its little bill out of the hole. So very cute!!!

Last night and again this morning, I tried to move Mama and her nest into the Maternity Ward (a sectioned off area of the duck run with its own separate house) and both times she would have none of it. She acted like the nest and the babies in it didn't exist until I moved everything back into the main duck house. Sigh. I'm going to try later when the babies are more mobile, otherwise I guess I'll have to try to section off part of the main duck house for a while.

I took a very hands-off approach when our Welsh Harlequin hatched out her babies and her ducklings were just wild, wanting absolutely nothing to do with me. This time, I'm going to camp out in the duck house for the day and just rotate through holding the babies. (The one that has a little yellow on its face has been "helping" me type this by tapping my phone with its little bill! I think I'm in love!!!)

 

[WVduckchick]

So far three have hatched and are all dry and fluffy and the fourth has worked its little bill out of the hole. So very cute!!!

Last night and again this morning, I tried to move Mama and her nest into the Maternity Ward (a sectioned off area of the duck run with its own separate house) and both times she would have none of it. She acted like the nest and the babies in it didn't exist until I moved everything back into the main duck house. Sigh. I'm going to try later when the babies are more mobile, otherwise I guess I'll have to try to section off part of the main duck house for a while.

I took a very hands-off approach when our Welsh Harlequin hatched out her babies and her ducklings were just wild, wanting absolutely nothing to do with me. This time, I'm going to camp out in the duck house for the day and just rotate through holding the babies. (The one that has a little yellow on its face has been "helping" me type this by tapping my phone with its little bill! I think I'm in love!!!)

My momma duck (black Swedish) with her 2-week-olds

 

[Krazyquilts]

My momma duck (black Swedish) with her 2-week-olds
View attachment 1087346 View attachment 1087348

So cute!!!! There is hands down nothing cuter than waddle baby duck, especially with a proud mama!