Please help! It's day 27 with no movement or internal pip from the duckling, what should I do?!

[BelovedBirds]

I see a small crack! But it's on the wrong side and hasn't broken through
What do I do?? Should I assist with that small dent to make sure he's getting air? Because I have no idea when it was made
View attachment 2929842

I wouldn't assist yet, when they pip from the wrong end, there are tons of blood vessels around there and you'd be risking breaking them. Are you sure that is a pip? That's the pointy end of the egg right? Seems he or she had already internally pipped at the correct end, and was doing okay... Also, when they pip the wrong end like that, that's usually their internal and external pip because they're malpositioned. He has already internally pipped, so I dont see how he could be malpositioned now.... Again though, I am not an expert, I would wait until someone else here gets back to you before assisting- remember- ducklings take a little while to hatch, so dont rush the process!
Hoping you'll see or hear some good signs soon!

 

[Kimmyh51]

Did you mean wrong side or wrong end? If it’s the wrong end it’s pipping from there’s a good chance it will need an assist. it may pip through the shell and be doing well but not able to turn (they normally crack through the shell and keep turning inside the egg and weakening the shell until they can kind of pop the top of the shelll off the egg and then out they come. Ones I have had which pipped the wrong end would break the shell but then keep chipping at the same spot, normally they cannot turn to cut a circle out of the shell that they then come out through. I’d keep a close eye on it, listen to it and if it cheeps say hello to it and if it’s going ok and not in distress you will hear a happy little “peep-peep” back from the duckling. If it has not made any progress in 12-24 hrs and/or stops the cheerful peep-peep for a long time, or if it starts sounding distressed (going peeep-peeep-peep-peep and the peeping is just sounding like it’s in distress then you may need to assist. I suggest you do sone YouTube searching and watching in the meantime and learn how to assist and also how to know whether it is ok to assist. If you start pulling off egg shell without knowing what you are doing you can kill the bird. But at the same time if it’s breech then there is a very good chance you will need to assist or it will eventually die due to lack of space to turn inside the egg to chip it’s way out.

there are lots of videos out there of assisted hatches, take some time now to watch as many as you can (maybe others can post links I can’t think of any particularly good ones to post off land but I’m sure there are plenty). You want to try and learn as much as you can about what to do and not do now, before you need to do it, not try and figure it out when you are at the point where you have to intervene. You want to learn how to see whether the veins have dried out enough and whether the bird is ready to hatch and needs help or is not yet ready and should be left, and some of that is stuff you need to see when you look at the egg, rather than me or anyone else try and describe to you.
suggest you watch as many videos as you can and then post questions based on what you learn from the videos So you can be as prepared as possible

if you do need to assist my advice is go slowly, each time you remove a bit of shell, observe the reaction from the duckling and also if there is any blood. Also have a water based lube handy as once you start removing shell you need to make sure the inner membrane doesn’t dry out or you get a duckling glued into the shell. Watch some videos so you can see for yourself what to look for and look out for. Good luck

 

[BelovedBirds]

Did you mean wrong side or wrong end? If it’s the wrong end it’s pipping from there’s a good chance it will need an assist. it may pip through the shell and be doing well but not able to turn (they normally crack through the shell and keep turning inside the egg and weakening the shell until they can kind of pop the top of the shelll off the egg and then out they come. Ones I have had which pipped the wrong end would break the shell but then keep chipping at the same spot, normally they cannot turn to cut a circle out of the shell that they then come out through. I’d keep a close eye on it, listen to it and if it cheeps say hello to it and if it’s going ok and not in distress you will hear a happy little “peep-peep” back from the duckling. If it has not made any progress in 12-24 hrs and/or stops the cheerful peep-peep for a long time, or if it starts sounding distressed (going peeep-peeep-peep-peep and the peeping is just sounding like it’s in distress then you may need to assist. I suggest you do sone YouTube searching and watching in the meantime and learn how to assist and also how to know whether it is ok to assist. If you start pulling off egg shell without knowing what you are doing you can kill the bird. But at the same time if it’s breech then there is a very good chance you will need to assist or it will eventually die due to lack of space to turn inside the egg to chip it’s way out.

there are lots of videos out there of assisted hatches, take some time now to watch as many as you can (maybe others can post links I can’t think of any particularly good ones to post off land but I’m sure there are plenty). You want to try and learn as much as you can about what to do and not do now, before you need to do it, not try and figure it out when you are at the point where you have to intervene. You want to learn how to see whether the veins have dried out enough and whether the bird is ready to hatch and needs help or is not yet ready and should be left, and some of that is stuff you need to see when you look at the egg, rather than me or anyone else try and describe to you.
suggest you watch as many videos as you can and then post questions based on what you learn from the videos So you can be as prepared as possible

if you do need to assist my advice is go slowly, each time you remove a bit of shell, observe the reaction from the duckling and also if there is any blood. Also have a water based lube handy as once you start removing shell you need to make sure the inner membrane doesn’t dry out or you get a duckling glued into the shell. Watch some videos so you can see for yourself what to look for and look out for. Good luck

well said!

 

[BelovedBirds]

Thank you so much guys for replying! I'll stop taking the egg out now and wait till day 30 then (is it alright if I briefly lift the incubator to wet the cloths and top the trays?)

Even though I've read up on info constantly, actually going through the process is completely different, and the moment something isn't by the book you can't help but panic! Everywhere I looked, if the ducklings hadn't internally pipped at day 26, they would by day 27, or people would at least see movement or shadowing so I was getting more and more worried something was wrong with my duckling because it's just one solid blob of darkness. Hearing @DucksAreBest experience puts me at ease though, I hope he's just a lazy little guy lol and I see progress either tomorrow or day 29 !

My incubator doesn't have any vents - it does have a fan though and you can place the lid on these hinge thingies that create gaps for more airflow but I've kept the lid close completely.
During incubation I topped the water tray to the top every other day as the instructions said, and then before what should've been lockdown, I added a wet cloth on top of topping the tray with water and I also, yesterday, spritzed the egg after taking it out and candling as I'd seen someone suggest on a different thread for someone else, because I'd taken it out a few times already so I didn't want to affect the humidity or risk the inner membrane drying out too much.
There's been condensation on the lid (there was no condensation before that so I'm assuming the humidity was pretty low before and now it's higher) but there's the worry of the humidity being too much.

Oh, I've also read others drop the temperature around hatch day and that lower temperatures increase humidity but I don't know if I'm supposed to do that considering the delayed hatch?

There's some amazing advice on here about assisted hatching, very helpful articles

 

[Cocelean]

I wouldn't assist yet, when they pip from the wrong end, there are tons of blood vessels around there and you'd be risking breaking them. Are you sure that is a pip? That's the pointy end of the egg right? Seems he or she had already internally pipped at the correct end, and was doing okay... Also, when they pip the wrong end like that, that's usually their internal and external pip because they're malpositioned. He has already internally pipped, so I dont see how he could be malpositioned now.... Again though, I am not an expert, I would wait until someone else here gets back to you before assisting- remember- ducklings take a little while to hatch, so dont rush the process!
Hoping you'll see or hear some good signs soon!

Did you mean wrong side or wrong end? If it’s the wrong end it’s pipping from there’s a good chance it will need an assist. it may pip through the shell and be doing well but not able to turn (they normally crack through the shell and keep turning inside the egg and weakening the shell until they can kind of pop the top of the shelll off the egg and then out they come. Ones I have had which pipped the wrong end would break the shell but then keep chipping at the same spot, normally they cannot turn to cut a circle out of the shell that they then come out through. I’d keep a close eye on it, listen to it and if it cheeps say hello to it and if it’s going ok and not in distress you will hear a happy little “peep-peep” back from the duckling. If it has not made any progress in 12-24 hrs and/or stops the cheerful peep-peep for a long time, or if it starts sounding distressed (going peeep-peeep-peep-peep and the peeping is just sounding like it’s in distress then you may need to assist. I suggest you do sone YouTube searching and watching in the meantime and learn how to assist and also how to know whether it is ok to assist. If you start pulling off egg shell without knowing what you are doing you can kill the bird. But at the same time if it’s breech then there is a very good chance you will need to assist or it will eventually die due to lack of space to turn inside the egg to chip it’s way out.

there are lots of videos out there of assisted hatches, take some time now to watch as many as you can (maybe others can post links I can’t think of any particularly good ones to post off land but I’m sure there are plenty). You want to try and learn as much as you can about what to do and not do now, before you need to do it, not try and figure it out when you are at the point where you have to intervene. You want to learn how to see whether the veins have dried out enough and whether the bird is ready to hatch and needs help or is not yet ready and should be left, and some of that is stuff you need to see when you look at the egg, rather than me or anyone else try and describe to you.
suggest you watch as many videos as you can and then post questions based on what you learn from the videos So you can be as prepared as possible

if you do need to assist my advice is go slowly, each time you remove a bit of shell, observe the reaction from the duckling and also if there is any blood. Also have a water based lube handy as once you start removing shell you need to make sure the inner membrane doesn’t dry out or you get a duckling glued into the shell. Watch some videos so you can see for yourself what to look for and look out for. Good luck

It took a while getting back sorry! I've been shuffling there's around in my room ready for the new arrival and lost my phone in the process!

I double checked earlier in the morning and there's actually a crack where the air cell is so I have no idea what that little chip on the pointy end is because it wasn't there before. I can hear tapping sounds, and they're still going - it's been a couple of hours, I think it's been at least a minimum 14 hours since the internal pip and at least 5-6 hours since I noticed the crack on the egg but there hasn't been any more progress and no hole. I tried saying hello and I only heard a very quiet and weak sounding squeak rather than a strong cheerful peep-peep - and that's the first time I've heard the duckling so I have no idea if it's getting weak or if it's doing find because there's nothing to compare it to. There's still continuous tapping though. Should I wait till tomorrow to make a safety hole? And in the case of a safety hole, do I still need to wet the inner membrane?

For the watery lube, would coconut oil be fine because that's what I've seen other threads use, and I don't have anything else.

 

[Cocelean]

I pulled off a tiny piece where the crack is originating from and it's white - does that mean the inner membrane is really dry?

 

[HollowOfWisps]

View attachment 2929939
I pulled off a tiny piece where the crack is originating from and it's white - does that mean the inner membrane is really dry?

That's an external pip on the correct end I would leave it be not assisting the hatch unless it's been over 48 hours. Continually pulling it out of the incubator while it's hatching is just going to stress the duckling out from the jostling of the egg and increase the risk of shrink wrapping. At only 5-6 hours after external pip chipping away at the shell is only going to cause it to dry out before the veins have fully receded and the yolk has fully absorbed. A white membrane is not a dry membrane. When the membrane dries out it turns an orange/brownish tinge. As far as peeping goes, I have never found it to be a good indicator. I hatch every spring and I've had plenty of eggs make absolutely no sound before they hatch.

 

[BelovedBirds]

View attachment 2929939
I pulled off a tiny piece where the crack is originating from and it's white - does that mean the inner membrane is really dry?

good to hear the duckling is progressing!
The duckling has pipped so no need to make a safety hole or interfere for a while yet. As for peeping, don't worry too quickly. It isnt always a definitive indicator, but also remember that this is a really tiring process for the duckling and they will rest a lot inbetween stages of hatching. Keep watching for the zip and listening, but leave it be to do its thing for now! It doesnt sound like the membrane is dry, but shrink wrapping is a possibility at this stage if the incubator is opened. Hopefully you'll have your baby duckling soon!

 

[Kellyjenny]

Leave it be keep it in the incubator the white is the inside membrane and that's normal. Don't open the inner membrane just leave it in the incubator and try not to take it out.

 

[Cocelean]

That's an external pip on the correct end I would leave it be not assisting the hatch unless it's been over 48 hours. Continually pulling it out of the incubator while it's hatching is just going to stress the duckling out from the jostling of the egg and increase the risk of shrink wrapping. At only 5-6 hours after external pip chipping away at the shell is only going to cause it to dry out before the veins have fully receded and the yolk has fully absorbed. A white membrane is not a dry membrane. When the membrane dries out it turns an orange/brownish tinge. As far as peeping goes, I have never found it to be a good indicator. I hatch every spring and I've had plenty of eggs make absolutely no sound before they hatch.

good to hear the duckling is progressing!
The duckling has pipped so no need to make a safety hole or interfere for a while yet. As for peeping, don't worry too quickly. It isnt always a definitive indicator, but also remember that this is a really tiring process for the duckling and they will rest a lot inbetween stages of hatching. Keep watching for the zip and listening, but leave it be to do its thing for now! It doesnt sound like the membrane is dry, but shrink wrapping is a possibility at this stage if the incubator is opened. Hopefully you'll have your baby duckling soon!

Leave it be keep it in the incubator the white is the inside membrane and that's normal. Don't open the inner membrane just leave it in the incubator and try not to take it out.

Alright I'll leave the duckling in there, thank you! And I'll use that white membrane as an indicator that I can look at from outside without disturbing the egg too much! I was actually expecting an external peep to be an actual hole rather than just a crack on the surface so I thought something was wrong but in that case I can rest easy and wait another day - thats a lot of waiting lol, it's been really testing my patience !