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Duckling dilema

dllang777

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Hi and Help! we have 2 duck hens that that hatched 13 ducklings out of 22 eggs Thursday into Saturday morning. So today I went to clean out the coop nest area since they girls had the babies out play in the run. I noticed two of the eggs had pip holes in them. I assumed the babies had died since the eggs were all cool to touch. Well a few minutes ago I heard peeps from inside those two and several others so we put them back in. But the hens are not paying attention. Should we step in and play Mama?, should we leave them to the girls and hope they take on the job?
 

Peachfaced

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This is my dad. @Zara Do you know of anyone that may have experience?
 

Zara

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@Khizz parents have ducks

I have moved this out of 911 because all the members tagged so far can´t post in 911
 

Shezbug

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Hmmm, don’t know much about ducks but I would guess if they’re struggling too long to get out of their eggs they loose energy and die. They do still need some warmth.
I had to help a heap of chicks (chickens not ducks) as the mamas were ignoring the last few eggs under similar conditions to what is described above.
I ended up slowly over hours and hours helping the chicks out by chipping away the tiniest bit of shell at a time and keeping the chicks warm. Moisture for the egg membrane was something else I was told to keep up by using a warm wet cotton bud.

What stage are the eggs at? Are the chicks having trouble hatching or have they only just started?
 

dllang777

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two have piped. several others are peeping inside. so they piped the membrane are working on absorbing the yolk sack.
 

Beakz

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I think you should step in! I grew up around farm animals so I’ve helped many chick/duck eggs hatch, When they spend too much time trying to hatch its better to give them a hand , I chip the egg for them little by little over some time, and if they seem weak, I wet their beak with a little water. Keeping them warm is very important!
 

Shezbug

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It is a decision that is soo tough to make. I left it too long to intervene a few times and the chick was too exhausted to recover so if you have the time and patience it may be best to help them out very very slowly- like over a few hours.
 

Shezbug

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Have you researched for the information on how and when to intervene? If you help too fast you will certainly kill the chick but if you leave it too long to try to get it out of the shell it will also die. They can take (I believe) up to and maybe even a little longer than 24 hrs to hatch. So if the piping only just happened you do not want to help out yet.
 

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There were two hens that laid the eggs, and they tried to number them, but the clutch got large and the two hens swapped eggs several times... so they aren't 100% sure if these are on the same "schedule".

The biggest issue is that the hens are not interested in sitting on these eggs. I'm hoping this quick brooder will give them a chance to hatch on their own.
 

Shezbug

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My chooks did that all the time making it hard to tell when they were meant to hatch or who they belonged to lol.

Keep a check on the activity of the chicks, mine would cheep and beep and wriggle cracking the shell more and more and you could see when they were starting to struggle as they obviously got weak and ran out of oomph. This is usually when I would start to help. I will see if I can find something online that gives some guidelines and things to watch out for.
 

Shezbug

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The biggest things from my memory are the moisture and timing of when you start to help and how long it takes you to actually totally free them, if it is too fast (which is usually the problem) the chick will die.

These are the main things I can remember when helping my little chooks....... They need to absorb all the yolk, they need the veins keeping them alive to naturally close off so they do not bleed out they need that membrane kept moist and they need to struggle for the health of their legs.
 

Hawk12237

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Hi and Help! we have 2 duck hens that that hatched 13 ducklings out of 22 eggs Thursday into Saturday morning. So today I went to clean out the coop nest area since they girls had the babies out play in the run. I noticed two of the eggs had pip holes in them. I assumed the babies had died since the eggs were all cool to touch. Well a few minutes ago I heard peeps from inside those two and several others so we put them back in. But the hens are not paying attention. Should we step in and play Mama?, should we leave them to the girls and hope they take on the job?
Yes, I would step in and play momma. Sometimes with that many eggs and chicks, it over whelmed the momma and distracts her from her duties. Get a heat lamp or keep eggs warm. And help the chick out of egg. And in few days mom and chick can be reunited.
 

Shezbug

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Yes, I would step in and play momma. Sometimes with that many eggs and chicks, it over whelmed the momma and distracts her from her duties. Get a heat lamp or keep eggs warm. And help the chick out of egg. And in few days mom and chick can be reunited.
You can not just step straight in and help until the right time or the chicks will be killed. It is not as simple as just helping the chick out of the egg- this in itself is quite a serious and dangerous process if you do not take your time or if you start too soon and do not know what to look out for.
 
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