The worst thing that's happened to me since I first became a "Duck Mama" six years ago!

[ancona_crazy]

I was soo exited to have ordered ancona duck eggs! The day finally arrived when I needed to stop turning them. I waited patiently for the day they would hatch. It came and went. Still I waited. Three days went by, so I did some research and saw that some BYCers pipped to see what was going on.

So I pipped my only ancona egg (broken aircells). It was still alive so I wet the papery white, found the beak and gave it a pip hole so that it could breathe. I let it rest overnight and checked on it the next morning. I wet the papery white again so that I could see what was going on in there. The veins were still large and I could still see yolk. I've been thinking about the little duckling all day and going back to it. I see very little shrinkage of the veins and the yolk is still large.

So I go back and check the dates. Sure enough I had marked the date to stop turning by a week early! I feel soo awefull! I feel like the worst duckie caregiver ever!

I should know better! I've been hatching eggs for years and have never made this mistake before! ugh!

 

[carcar80]

Oh no!! Bless your heart. So, what's the usual outcome? Will it be okay? I hope so! So sorry..

 

[Amiga]

 

[Going Quackers]

Oh no! i am sorry. I have never hatched an egg so i have no idea, are they saveable? or is all hope lost.

 

[ancona_crazy]

Thank you for the comforting words. Today it seems that the veins are shrinking and the yolk is dried up. The duckling seems very weak. I hope that it will be okay until the veins have receded. Youcan help ducklings hatch. It's like a little ducky c-section Ijust started helping when it wasn't nessacary because my dates were off. I always tell my kids it's just a learning experience. It's just a whole lot harder to swallow when it's a living being at stake and it was very preventable....

 

[PeackockGirl]

It's okay things like that happen

lets all just hope that the helpless little thing makes it.

 

[ancona_crazy]

Thank you peacockgirl, the duckling did not make it. I'm not sure why. I figured that if it wasn't messed with it would be fine. I feel really down right now. I know that people get ducks every day. I know hatchs don't work out quite often. But that was MY little duckling in there. I was attached maybe because I was fighting so hard for it. Because at first it was fighting so hard.

 

[carcar80]

 

[ancona_crazy]

Thank you carcar80