Help! Duckling hatched with partially absorbed yolk sack...

[Jaydizzle91]

My first baby duckling hatched with my help today, he pipped on his own yesterday morning on the opposite end of the air pocket, ive left him until about 4pm today until i helped him out of the shell, the blood vessels have been absorbed and his bottom half is still in the egg. However he has some yolk sack still unabsorbed, about the size of a kidney bean.. Hes chirping every now and then but hes just laying on his back. He tries to kick the egg off every now and then. He's breathing normally he just seems either really tired (understandably) or weak. He wont take any water drops. Do i leave the sack to dry or keep it moist? Some people say cut it off but i wouldnt feel confident doing that... Help?

 

[Jaydizzle91]

 

[sumi]

I see it's been 10 hours since you posted, so I hope I'm not too late. In a situation like this you should put the duckling upright in a cup or something similar, with it's bottom in the shell still, wrapped in a damp cloth to help keep the sac moist and leave it in the incubator with the humidity high until it's finished absorbing the yolk.

 

[Jaydizzle91]

Thanks, this morning he was walking around with the umbilical cord attached to the shell, he was struggling to move around whilst trying to drag the shell and i couldnt see any veins so i cut around the inside of the shell and i left a long stringy bit of gunk that he happily dragged around, just now the stringy bit has come off and after a very slight bleed hes ok and walking around cheeping.. Theres still a slight ball of yolk underneath him, ive placed a towel under him as he was headbutting the mesh lol.. Ive named him torpedo as he has HUGE feet pic to follow...

 

[Jaydizzle91]

 

[sumi]

He's adorable! Dab a little antibiotic cream/ointment (one without painkiller) on it's navel area to stop it getting infected. Once the navel's sealed he's good to go.

 

[Jaydizzle91]

Ok will do.. What will happen to the yolk sack bit thats under him? Will it dry up and drop off? Thanks for your help.

 

[sumi]

He will either absorb it, or it will dry and fall off eventually. Ideally he should absorb it. Is he still in the incubator?

 

[Jaydizzle91]

Yeah ive left him in there, hes looking stronger by the hour, hes walked over for water and done about 3 laps around the incubator it started to dry up but hes just stepped in the water and got it wet. When do i offer him food and is humidity such an issue now? Its currently 72%. Ive made a set up with heat lamp and newspaper ready for him.

 

[caitanni]

I'm new to chickens, and have no experience with ducks, but I think the news paper is bad for him. He could hurt his legs from slipping from what I have read. Old towel? wood shavings? That's what I use with day old chicks I have purchased. But I could be wrong...