can a duck egg survive with a crack in it?

[Flock Runner]

one of my ducks has been sitting on an egg. I came in to check on it and it was knocked out of the nest and up against the fence. there was a small crack/indentation on the egg were it had hit the fence. I think the mom may have kicked it out when getting some water. I candeled the egg and the duckling is definitely still alive and the crack did not pierce the membrane, but I'm still really worried. the rest of her eggs were killed by a fox and this is the only one left. it is very close to hatching day and I don't want it to die!

here are some pictures for refrence.


this is where I found it.



it was still nice and warm when I found it, so I put it back under the mom, but i'm still really panicking right now!!!

 

[hfchristy]

How close to hatching day is it? We're three days away, and the eggs have started to pip, so if you're in that range, I'd think it would be okay. A pip is just a deliberate crack, right?

If it's much more than that, I might worry about contamination. If you look up info for setting eggs in an incubator, there's often a line about how it's best to set eggs that have no cracks, but that you can sometimes save a cracked egg by putting *something* over the crack. I know I've read lots of different suggestions, but can't remember what they were off hand.

 

[Habibs Hens]

if the membrane is intact then it can but you need to seal it asap in paraffin wax or it will leak and get infected with bacteria

 

[Flock Runner]

this is my first time ever hatching my own egg and i'm very anxious about it because all the others were killed. i'm not quite sure about the exact hatching date but if I had to guess, it would have probably start to pip on its own in about three or four days. i'm worried that the mom might pierce the membrane with her nail, and the baby will become sick and die before hatching. I looked for some paraffin wax at my local feed store, but he didn't have any. i'm considering applying liquid bandage to the crack at this point because it's the only thing I have on hand, but i'm worried that it might make hatching too difficult for the duckling. can the paraffin wait a day? or is it too late to save the baby?
i'm crossing my fingers that it will be alright.

 

[Habibs Hens]

this is my first time ever hatching my own egg and i'm very anxious about it because all the others were killed. i'm not quite sure about the exact hatching date but if I had to guess, it would have probably start to pip on its own in about three or four days. i'm worried that the mom might pierce the membrane with her nail, and the baby will become sick and die before hatching. I looked for some paraffin wax at my local feed store, but he didn't have any. i'm considering applying liquid bandage to the crack at this point because it's the only thing I have on hand, but i'm worried that it might make hatching too difficult for the duckling. can the paraffin wait a day? or is it too late to save the baby?
i'm crossing my fingers that it will be alright.

if its in advanced incubation stage you might just be lucky it will be ok

just melt some hot candle wax on it that will be fine too

all you want to do is seal it