Duck egg day 25 external pip then 26 hours later with nothing..?

[Kristen L]

Hello,
I have a swedish egg that externally pipped yesterday at around 10am. As of last night there was another small one next to the first pip. Then early this morning a third. I assume this is zipping? But, nothing since, and I don't hear any chirps. Is this normal? These pips are averaging 8-12 hours between pips. This is my first hatch. Total newby here. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks

 

[cheezenkwackers]

Ducks seem to take forever to hatch. Mine always seem to wait at least 24 hours from pip to zip. I try not to worry unless 48 hours has gone by. If your pip was on day 25 I wouldn't worry. Your baby is probably still waiting for the blood vessels to shrink and resting up for the big hatch. Hang in there!

 

[Kristen L]

Ducks seem to take forever to hatch. Mine always seem to wait at least 24 hours from pip to zip. I try not to worry unless 48 hours has gone by. If your pip was on day 25 I wouldn't worry. Your baby is probably still waiting for the blood vessels to shrink and resting up for the big hatch. Hang in there!

Thank you so much for your reply. It so exciting and stressful! All this care and love in hand turning eggs for almost a month. You just want them out safe and healthy. I hope I get to see their fuzzy butts soon.

 

[JaeG]

Your baby is getting oxygen so it should be fine. If it gets to 48 hours after the first external pip I'd take a closer look. Does the membrane still look white?

You could shine a torch at the egg and see if it wriggles. Our duck eggs did that so that was an easy way to reassure ourselves that they were still ok. For some reason light seems to stimulate them to hatch - I've read other members say the same thing. I had one start to unzip one evening but it waited until it was light the next morning to actually finish the job and hatch.

 

[Kristen L]

Your baby is getting oxygen so it should be fine. If it gets to 48 hours after the first external pip I'd take a closer look. Does the membrane still look white?

You could shine a torch at the egg and see if it wriggles. Our duck eggs did that so that was an easy way to reassure ourselves that they were still ok. For some reason light seems to stimulate them to hatch - I've read other members say the same thing. I had one start to unzip one evening but it waited until it was light the next morning to actually finish the job and hatch.

Hi, thank you for your response. I just tried that, shone a light on it but i didnt see any wiggling. It looks the three pips are just a bit of the shell punched up a bit, doesnt look like the membrane is poked. its hard to tell, it would be a tiny hole if any.

 

[JaeG]

Hi, thank you for your response. I just tried that, shone a light on it but i didnt see any wiggling. It looks the three pips are just a bit of the shell punched up a bit, doesnt look like the membrane is poked. its hard to tell, it would be a tiny hole if any.

If there's a crack in the shell then there will be a puncture in the membrane even if you can't see it. They do seem to rest a lot.

If I was in your shoes I would take the egg out for a quick inspection (I'm super hands on when it comes to incubating eggs). Talk to the duckling to see if you get a response and candle to check that it is still moving. If you candle you should be able to see if it's still doing the yawning and chewing that means it is still absorbing the yolk. If it isn't doing that any longer then it may be a little stuck for some reason and need help. As long as the room you are in isn't super low in humidity it should be fine. Or you can run the shower on hot to steam up the bathroom and take the incubator in there.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/goose-incubation-hatching-guide-completed.491013/
This is an excellent thread and, although it is in the Goose forum, it applies to any incubated eggs. It has advice for assisting if necessary.

 

[Kristen L]

Update, I have my first duckling! took her 32 hours from the first pip. Two days ahead of hatch date. so shes solo in the brooder for now.
thanks for your help everyone!

 

[JaeG]

That's awesome news!

 

[Kristen L]

a final update, I started with 12 duck eggs. After the last three days we now have 11 ducklings! the longest one from pip to zip was 45.5 hours!
wowzers. 11 ducklings sure do make a big mess really, really fast