Is it necessary to help ducklings hatch in an incubator: what to do at home

What is the right thing to do and should newborn ducklings in an incubator be helped to hatch? Why do some eggs lie for a long time without hatching? Such questions are faced by farmers who are trying to breed poultry on their own. To understand exactly how to act, you should turn to nature for a hint: how a duck behaves in such cases. Or study the experience of leading poultry farmers.

Do I need to help ducklings hatch?

Of course, situations are different. If the egg squeaks, moves, and pecking does not occur, you should help the chick. Approximately between the 19th and 22nd day, the appearance of ducklings should begin.It is believed that this period is most suitable for strong, he althy ducklings to be born.

When a chick cannot break through the shell on its own, it will have to come to the rescue. Do not forget that in the incubator the conditions for the maturation of eggs are artificial, different from natural ones. Therefore, the shell can dry out, it becomes harder.

Experts advise adjusting the humidity level in the unit, and about 19 days after laying the eggs, additionally spray them with water. So the shell will be close in hardness to that which the chicks are able to break through.

But if the ducklings themselves are able to free themselves from the egg, you should not interfere in any way. Only options will be considered when newborn chicks cannot do without human help.

How to do it?

The first sign that the chicks need help is a steady squeak during the day without any effect.This means that for some reason the duckling does not have enough strength to break through the shell, to get out. Then the newborn should be helped to hatch from the egg. To do this, first shine through the shell to determine where the beak is located. Then proceed with extreme caution. It is necessary to peel off the outer shell without damaging the film located under it. This algorithm is dictated by the care of the chick.

Through the resulting window in the film, you can see how the intended place coincided with the actual one. If this succeeds, there is no need to do anything further.

The chick will expand the hole itself, get out of the shell. Extreme caution should be exercised in areas where blood vessels are visible. If they are damaged by negligence, the duckling will freeze. Or even his death.

Also, you can not forcibly tear off the inner film from the chick. Remove it, you can do it in 2 ways:

splashing the duckling lightly with warm water;
carefully wiping the cub with a wet cotton pad, gauze swab.

No other action is allowed. And even so, you need to be extremely careful with the duckling so as not to harm him.

Does duck help with hatching?

Under natural conditions, poultry behaves differently. It happens that a duck, inadvertently sitting on eggs, even crushes some of them. Therefore, the incubator method is more reliable. Sometimes ducks help chicks break through the shell. But, given the size of the beak, often such actions can lead to injury and death of newborns.

Anyway, the mother hen is waiting for all the chicks to hatch.If for some reason this does not happen, the bird shows concern, screams, attracts attention. Do not forget that in natural conditions there are different periods of incubation. They, on average, range from 28 to 35 days, which is in no way suitable in a mini-farm, mass production. It is better not to rely on a duck, if, nevertheless, a natural way of incubation is chosen, but to carefully help problem chicks.