Slow and steady wins the race.

[woodlandblaze]

So I know the theory about not assisting chicks/ducklings hatch. If you assist the chick they will end up being weak and not living very long, etc, etc. It is best to just let nature take its course. Well I have found that with my ducklings that are hatching if I assist them a little bit after a day or 2 of working on it on their own, they are coming out happy and healthy. But every single duckling that I didn't help at all, died with in hours of hatching out. I just thought it was interesting. The ducks that died did hatch out very quickly. It only took them a few hours from pipping to being free of the shell. The ones that lived took a few days. I guess slow and steady does win the race!

 

[Bettacreek]

I've always helped, and never had sick/weak chicks for it. I figure that if they're having problems, there's a chance that it's YOUR fault to begin with (incubator issues), and if they had been incubated under perfect conditions, they would have hatched just fine. That's not a personal insult to anyone, as I've said, I've had it happen several times, so I'm not perfect either.

 

[akashia26]

i've always went by this rule. if the hen is setting the eggs she knows what to do and hands off. now that i'm incubating some it could be my fault they are having trouble, so i help if there seems to be a problem. not always right, but i'm not squemish either and do what needs to be done if things just don't work out.