|
|
 | |
auctions - advertising rates -
site news -
help -
contact
| |
|
Thursday: 9 PM ET: Pet Loss & Grief Support Chat 10 PM ET: Long Term Illness Support Chat
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
auctions - advertising rates -
site news -
help -
contact
| |
|
Thursday: 9 PM ET: Pet Loss & Grief Support Chat 10 PM ET: Long Term Illness Support Chat
|
Posted by cathy41311 on October 17, 2002 at 09:07:27:
In Reply to: high humidity needed! posted by Doug Miller on October 16, 2002 at 19:40:40:
:::::Help the abandoned eggs are now trying to hatch I helped one out and it was very weak. Another has a small hole broke through its shell and it chirps at me when I am near it. The one I helped is weak and hasnt moved much except to chirp when I am near its make shift incubator [a tupperware dish with a lamp on it.] Are they normally weak when they hatch? I am keeping it as warm as possible till my husband gets off work and can bring home a heat lamp. When should I expect it to gain some strenghth? Stand up? Eat? Should I help the other duckling out of its egg too? Any help will be greatly appreciated.
::::One baby died, and the first one is still alive I am hearing chirping from one more egg and hopeing to hear more. There was fourteen eggs all together. I have noticed that the first ones yolk has gone down considerably. When should I try to feed this baby. Alhtough this one lived I am very hesitant to help any others to hatch out. Help!!!!!!!!!!!!
::::
:::
:::I realize that I may not be much help, but I will tell you what I know. We have two Pekin ducks that we got when they were about a week old. We kept them under a heat lamp in a rubbermaid with straw. They eat chicken scratch from your local feed store. Make sure that you also get them a water dish and put rocks in it so they don't drown. Your first baby needs to be fed soon. Hope this helps.
:::
::Thank you every bit of info is helping, right now.
:I'm not sure how many hours it will be before they can stand up but they will be weak for some time after hatching. Don't worry about food, they can survive for days on their stored yolk. Your biggest problem is humidity, or the lack thereof. Lack of humidity means the egg interior will dry up and toughen once the duckling pips the eggshell (cracks the shell even just a little). Tough egg membranes can trap the strongest duckling so it can't complete hatching. Since the mother isn't on top regulating humidity and I doubt the ambient air humidity is very high I bet there is occuring a large net loss of water from the egg to the atmosphere. Some sort of heated, humidified chamber is what you need (maybe a styrofoam cooler with wet towels inside and a hot pad or similar...or at least a wet towel/sponge around the tupperware the eggs are in now). Its tough to call, may be too late to do anything except try and help others hatch.
:If worried about duckling not drinking, push its head down into water and it will probably quickly get the idea.
:I'm worried about when you talk about the first ones yolk going down considerably...do you mean the yolk sac is not fully invaginated? The yolk sac should not be visible after hatching. I'm not sure, but I think that the muscular contractions necessary for hatching help invaginate the yolk sac and thus having to help hatch the duckling because of low humidity may lead to this problem because the duckling didn't go through the stage of pushing against the eggshell by itself. So it may be the case that you have to help the ducklings hatch because they are too dried out but doing so will risk hatchlings with exposed yolk sacs.
:I have experienced situations which I believe are the same as what you are experiencing. I was using an incubater but I think they got too dry. A couple I am sure would have died trying to hatch if I hadn't helped them. The ones that died didn't even get to the pipping stage although they were well developed. Another time a different batch started to pip and then got stuck, I helped 4 or 5 but the yolk sacs weren't invaginated enough and they died...one made it as long as 1.5 days with about a half-inch of yolk sac visible, the others had more visible. I'm still not sure what the main problem was...perhaps I lifted the cover to check too often and that dried them out although my hygrometer said the humidity was restored to about 70-90% pretty quickly.
:Thankyou for your response, you were right several of the eggs were dried up and the ducklings had died when I tried to help hatch them, whether they froze when the mother left or dried up to much I am not sure. There are 4 eggs that have not pipped, they are probably no good but I am keeping them covered with a tupperware dish and wet wash clothes in them just in case. I still have 2 ducklings living the yolk sacs on both of them have invaginated and one duckling is very strong and one is weak, but this one hatch yesterday and isnt quite 24 hours old yet. They are starting to nibble at the food, and water so I am hoping they will be alright.
I am not sure what to due with them after they are old enough to go outside, or when this will be. The nights are going down into the high 30's here. What kind of shelter will they need to survive a Kentucky winter and how long should I keep them inside?