- Oct 24, 2007
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I have not fully read all the posts on this thread, but I did scan that one person helped a chick that had not absorbed the yoke, or maybe it was hatched with the yoke still out?
Anyway, I have been having a habit of helping just a tiny bit each time I check if I notice a chick is not moving along as I feel it should.
This year I did it twice with ducklings. I had them in my incubator they pipped and I tried to help, I didn't do it all at once, but in the end, I ended up helping guide the head out, with my flashlight I noticed the yoke was not absorbed. Trust me I felt like total crap and would really recommend not helping to soon.
I called a friend to find out what to do. She read me a article got online and sent me others. So it took it in my own hands with what I had read. Which is pretty much what I ended up doing.
I only pulled the baby's head out a little so I could see. I carefully tucked baby back in the shell, got a warm wet paper towel, so it was soaked but not dripping, wrapped the egg and taped it with the blue painters tape, I left a small spot over the chicks face open so it could breath, then I wrapped over the paper towel with saran wrap and taped that to hold it, I placed the duckling and egg back in the incubator.
The main key was to NOT let the yoke dry out. The wet paper towel added to the shell helped keep moisture.
Later that evening I unwrapped the duckling/egg and added a new clean towel and rewrapped. Baby talking to me all the time. I repeated this a couple times. Then finally the duckling popped its head out of the egg and had its neck stretched out. I let him be not putting it back in as this is his own way of progressing. (Now in what I read it was pretty much the same thing, Minus the saran wrap, the directions I read were to take a zip lock bag, cut a hole in the corner put egg/chick in bag slip the baby's head out of the hole so it can breath, add a wet paper towel, always warm, and seal the bag so that the baby would stay moist, my duckling was not able to do this though because his head had not been out yet on its own) So I changed the wrap and this time I tried to slip him in the bag, it worked but I preferred the saran wrap. Usually when I changed the towels I would check the progress on the yoke.
Anyway this duckling absorbed the yoke and fully hatched on its own. It needed a little help getting past the paper towel and saran wrap. He hatched in June this year. He is a White Call Duck Drake and he is a little trooper! He hatched with another white all drake brother!
On the second occasion, I helped to soon again, same issue with the yoke, I followed all the previous steps and eventually over a night the next am I went to check and the duckling was trying to finish its hatch, it spun around in the egg an tried to "zip" another part of the egg to escape! I found him and unwrapped and let him free. Unfortunately I placed him under the lamp in a small carrier and didn't give him a spot to get away from the heat and well you know.
I kicked myself for that one too. I knew better, and after all that work! He was a Black East Indy Duck.
So anyway if you find you helped to soon and the yoke is not absorbed you may try these tips and search for others experiences. I suppose it wont always work. So please try not to help to soon.
Anyway, I have been having a habit of helping just a tiny bit each time I check if I notice a chick is not moving along as I feel it should.
This year I did it twice with ducklings. I had them in my incubator they pipped and I tried to help, I didn't do it all at once, but in the end, I ended up helping guide the head out, with my flashlight I noticed the yoke was not absorbed. Trust me I felt like total crap and would really recommend not helping to soon.
I called a friend to find out what to do. She read me a article got online and sent me others. So it took it in my own hands with what I had read. Which is pretty much what I ended up doing.
I only pulled the baby's head out a little so I could see. I carefully tucked baby back in the shell, got a warm wet paper towel, so it was soaked but not dripping, wrapped the egg and taped it with the blue painters tape, I left a small spot over the chicks face open so it could breath, then I wrapped over the paper towel with saran wrap and taped that to hold it, I placed the duckling and egg back in the incubator.
The main key was to NOT let the yoke dry out. The wet paper towel added to the shell helped keep moisture.
Later that evening I unwrapped the duckling/egg and added a new clean towel and rewrapped. Baby talking to me all the time. I repeated this a couple times. Then finally the duckling popped its head out of the egg and had its neck stretched out. I let him be not putting it back in as this is his own way of progressing. (Now in what I read it was pretty much the same thing, Minus the saran wrap, the directions I read were to take a zip lock bag, cut a hole in the corner put egg/chick in bag slip the baby's head out of the hole so it can breath, add a wet paper towel, always warm, and seal the bag so that the baby would stay moist, my duckling was not able to do this though because his head had not been out yet on its own) So I changed the wrap and this time I tried to slip him in the bag, it worked but I preferred the saran wrap. Usually when I changed the towels I would check the progress on the yoke.
Anyway this duckling absorbed the yoke and fully hatched on its own. It needed a little help getting past the paper towel and saran wrap. He hatched in June this year. He is a White Call Duck Drake and he is a little trooper! He hatched with another white all drake brother!
On the second occasion, I helped to soon again, same issue with the yoke, I followed all the previous steps and eventually over a night the next am I went to check and the duckling was trying to finish its hatch, it spun around in the egg an tried to "zip" another part of the egg to escape! I found him and unwrapped and let him free. Unfortunately I placed him under the lamp in a small carrier and didn't give him a spot to get away from the heat and well you know.
So anyway if you find you helped to soon and the yoke is not absorbed you may try these tips and search for others experiences. I suppose it wont always work. So please try not to help to soon.
