# Assisting Shrink wrapped Ducklings



## Laney3535

Is anyone on here experienced in hatching ducks? I put 4 eggs under my broody bantam chicken and they started to hatch about 7 this morning. They could have pipped a lot earlier I don't know though I was asleep. Anyway about 14 hours later I decided to open up the pips because no one had progressed at all but they were all still alive found everyone shrink wrapped. Friend on Facebook told me to open up the top and moisten the membranes again since it's day 29 or 30 I don't remember. I'm just super worried about them. I'll add the pictures. The first one is the small hole when I realized there were shrink wrapped the second one was after I opened it more and wetted down the membrane. The third pic is another egg I helped pip open who also was shrink wrapped. Everyone got their membranes moistened and put back under mom until morning. Then I'll see what's going on again. You can see how the membrane is completely separated from the shell. And dry.


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## ksalvagno

Wow. I hope they do OK for you.


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## deerbunnyfarm

I don't know how much help this will be, as I've only hatched out six eggs before, but four of them were shrink wrapped and I had to assist. Originally I had a hen on them, but as they started hatching she started killing them!!  So I took the remaining eggs inside, put them in a plastic tote with a heat lamp, and wet washclothes surrounding them... Still they became shrink wrapped. I wetted the membranes but there was still no progress, one died because I think I waited too long. So for the others I had some dull tweezers and warm water and made the "zip" slowly slowly slowly for each of them. I read that if you see red blood, stop what you're doing, rewrap with moist paper towel, and wait for a while. I never saw any red. After I made the zip all the way around I let them push out and only needed to assist one the rest of the way.


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## jschies

You can tap the shell firmly with the eraser end of a pencil and crack the shell. Then get the tweezers and gently pull. If you don't help, the chicks will not make it out. At this point they are firmly stuck. Keep wetting the shell down as you go.


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## Lstein

I've been through this problem with chicks and a gosling. Here's what you do.

Set up a space to start, preferably someplace warm (bathroom if you can, get it nice and steamy). Get a glass of warm water and some q-tips. Slowly start pealing away the shell, leaving the membrane though. As you uncover some more membrane, wet it. Once you get a decent amount of shell off, start slightly pulling the membrane off too, if you see blood, stop immediately.

Assuming the blood is all absorbed at this point, and you get the shell completely off, you may have to start soaking the crusty pieces that are stuck to the duck, otherwise he will start to be unable to move from how hard that stuff gets. If it's really bad, turn on the tap to just slightly warm (think 100 deg.) and hold his body under it and just start very slowly working it off, getting it wet and rubbing it.


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## Lstein

Here is more info on it also http://www.backyardchickens.com/a/step-by-step-guide-to-assisted-hatching, that's where I remember getting the info when I needed it too. A huge thing is not letting them get chilled when they are wet.


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## Laney3535

Thank you! I'm at school right now on I gotta wait until I get home to do more with them. Their membranes still have blood supplies so I'm just wetting them for now. My mom is doing it while I'm at school and hopefully they will be all absorbed when I get jome. They are very very stuck


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## Lstein

They will probably stuck on there pretty hard by then, so once you get the shell off you will probably have to go to the sink. I set the sink stopper to hold some water in the sink but just enough so that I could still run the tap. Held the amber encased chick in the pool and let the warm water run on her, but not her head! save that for last. Slowly slowly start peeling the membrane off, once it soaks a little bit, it becomes kind of rubbery again. Just have to be patient and take your time with it, making sure the water never gets too hot or too cold.

I had basically same situation you're in, the chick pipped early early that morning and by time I got home from work 12 hrs later, she had made no progress and was completely encased and immobile in the membrane. Could not move at all, just barely cheap. 

Once you get them out, they will probably be very stiff and their head will probably still be stuck in an awkward position. Getting them some warm water with honey or molasses in it will definitely help speed things along.


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## Lstein

I would also make sure they are completely dry before giving them back to mama hen. They will chill very fast when they are completely wet like that.


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## Laney3535

One hatched others are almost out! I think they just needed their membranes moistened


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## Lstein

That's great!


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## Laney3535

Here they are!


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## Laney3535

I feel so horrible.... it's day 31 and I took out the last egg that never internally pipped and no movement and the aircell took up most of the egg so I assumed dead. Went to do eggtopsie. Duckking was not dead. Yolk not absorbed. Started peeping a bit and opened its beak a few times then passed away. Guess my neighbors accidentally gave me a musovy eith my runners. I feel like a horrible human being. There was no movement.


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## Lstein

It happens to everyone, there's just no real way to be sure....especially if you're slipped a curve ball like a Muscovy with their longer incubation period. Just look at the three other babies that you helped save!

Congrats on those little guys, they're such cute little fluffers. Will you be keeping them with mama hen?


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## RustyBucketBoers

I've never hatched eggs before, so I have a question (sorry to hijack the thread..)! Can you not help them out of the egg if things aren't progressing? Does it hurt them at all to hatch them manually?


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## Bansil

Lstein said:


> Just look at the three other babies that you helped save!
> 
> Congrats on those little guys, they're such cute little fluffers. Will you be keeping them with mama hen?


:boy: you should be proud, good job


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## Lstein

RustyBucketBoers said:


> I've never hatched eggs before, so I have a question (sorry to hijack the thread..)! Can you not help them out of the egg if things aren't progressing? Does it hurt them at all to hatch them manually?


 If they aren't progressing, you "can" but only when it looks like they aren't going to make it themselves.

The biggest thing is: once you start taking pieces of the shell and membrane off, if the chick hasn't completely absorbed all the blood, if could cause them to bleed out and not make it.


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## Laney3535

RustyBucketBoers said:


> I've never hatched eggs before, so I have a question (sorry to hijack the thread..)! Can you not help them out of the egg if things aren't progressing? Does it hurt them at all to hatch them manually?


When you are helping chick's open up the air cell first and if you see any blood stop. Put the egg back. Wait 2 hours and try again. Blood again? Stop for a few more hours and if blood again stop for another 5 or 6 hours. Don't rush the hatch. My ducklings had already absorbed the blood out of the membranes


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