When to help? When to worry?

[Lacrystol]

Step away from the egg! LOL

My egg started pipping on Sunday right after lock down But I am not expecting them to hatch until Wednesday.

If I'm right (Im new to this too but I have read everything I can) and my eggs are based on this too between internal and external pip it can be up to nearly two days. From the external pip to hatch it can be anything up to 72 hours on top of that. It sounds like your duckling is right on form.

I'm finding they do a bit of taping and then rest up. It sounds like you have a very good chance with this one as long as you do NOT open the incubator. Leave well alone even when his head pops out. It takes a hell of a lot of effort so it needs to keep resting up. It could be another day before he is free. The biggest mistake seems to be our impatience. Each of those stage makes baby stronger and he has to sleep in between. So when he breaks out he will sleep. Don't think he has died and open the incubator up.

Don't give up on him yet. You made the mistake with the other two now you have another chance. Let nature do what she has done from time began. She knows how this goes. And so does the duckling. The humidity will be fine as I'm finding it rises on its own as they go along so as long as you leave well alone he won't shrink wrap.

Now you need to let this run it's own course how ever hard that is. The duckling has a strong will to live and you need to honour that. Sit back and just watch and listen.

Good luck x

Agree up to a certain point, call ducks need assistance at times, so it would depend on the type if duck you are trying to hatch that will make all the difference..

 

[Lacrystol]

Ok, guys, first time hatching ducklings. I presently have one cayuga and one welsh harlequin trying to come into the world. Yesterday was day 28 and they started pipping. They sat there for 12 hours-still chirping, etc- without making any progress. Here's where I probably messed up. I got some tweezers and widened their hole a little bit. I read online that you could help them by pinching pieces off in a circle. I know now that they meant, a circle around the end, like a can opener, but I misunderstood at the time. They are still breathing, chirping, yawning, sticking their tongue out and wriggling around, but we are at the 36 hour mark and they still haven't progressed much. It's KILLING me. I can still see yolk in their eggs so I assume they are resting and absorbing it. However, I'm worried because I CANNOT get the humidity in their incubator above 50. I have the incubator in the bathroom so I have been running the shower super hot to fill the room with steam and get the humidity up and I have wet sponges and paper towels in their incubator. I'm worried that they are too dry and that they can't move around or that my widening their hole disoriented them or somehow made it harder for them to move the way they need to. Right now I'm just taking a hands-off approach but I don't know when should I worry? When should I help? What should I do???

Ok first of all you have been sadly miss informed, you do not peal them like a can opener, the hole that your talking about is called a safe hole this hole is no bigger then a pen piont, if you can see the beak you have taken WAY to much off. The purpose for the safe hole is to allow them to breath as they are progressing or trying to escape out of there shell.. It's only used for certain types of breeds like calls ducks why because call ducks have a hard time getting out and run out of air before they do..

 

[Lacrystol]

Well one ducky worked his way out with minimal extra help. He began to regurgitate a lot of fluid and blow bubbles from his nostrils. It kind of really worried me! I continually blotted away the fluid and weakened the shell a little bit to make a cap like he would normally. Finally pushed his way out about 45 hours after pipping. He is moving and breathing, but still blowing bubbles from his nose. Peeping more and more strongly. Since I'm still blotting fluid away from his nose and trying to keep his head upright to help him breathe, I removed him from the incubator to avoid impairing the other eggs from successfully hatching. I'm keeping him in my boobie-bator right now. I don't know if any of this is right-just kind of following my instincts now. I'm worried because he's pretty weak. He can't lift his head. If I try to sit him down he scoots with his back feet til his head it in my hand again. When left to sleep, he curls up like he is still in the egg. Thoughts? I'm hoping he gets stronger over the next day or so. 

Not good humidity is WAY TO HIGH GET ANOTHER GAGE...

 

[Lacrystol]

Ok there are a lot of websites out there that say humidity should be at 86 to 90 but what a lot of people don't understand or further read that's for a wet bulb, makes a world of difference on what you are using. Here's my site www.lwbarnhouse.com, click on the duck tab you will see two methods that I have used that have been very successful, not to mention I have nine more eggs due to hatch Friday. My preference is method two, but you choose your method and let us know how it works out.

Now I've help a lot of ducks escape successfully out of the shell, the NUMBER ONE IMPORTANT THING TO REMEMBER, it takes time, you rush it you will lose. One thing to remember is your on THERE schedule not yours. Sometimes it takes hours and hours of sleepless nights to be successful...

Unless you have a mommy duck doing the work then you will struggle our job is to try and duplicate what they do and usually we are not good at it, we make mistakes and the only thing we can do is learn from it and move on. DONT LET YOUR MISTAKES HAPPEN TWICE.

 

[Lacrystol]

Now that my speech it done, lol I need to know what you are using, are you using an air or a still incubator, what is the temp and humidity at, there's still hope for the last two but we may need to act fast.

When is there due date??

 

[Lacrystol]

Those types of ducks take 28 days was Saturday the 28th day??

 

[krissyg2991]

Sorry I had to run some errands. Still air, 98 degrees, first gauge said 55% added another that reads 80%. These are hydrometers we have used in our snake tanks. Saturday was day 28. So we are on day 30 today.

 

[krissyg2991]

Just checked the hydrometer again-its about 75.

 

[krissyg2991]

Still no hole in the papery outer membrane, just about a little less than a cm diameter section of shell broken away. This has not changed since yesterday afternoon. No tapping now, but the egg wiggles and I can hear him chirp when I talk to him.

 

[Lacrystol]

Sorry I had to run some errands. Still air, 98 degrees, first gauge said 55% added another that reads 80%. These are hydrometers we have used in our snake tanks.  Saturday was day 28. So we are on day 30 today.

Oh god lord get that humidity down, kind of makes since why the one was blowing bubbles. Oh my 80% will kill them! they will drown..

Get that temp up your temp should be at 101