Because I staggered the introduction of duck eggs into the incubator over about a five day period, the “hatch” has also been distributed over about a five day period. Well, duh, right? Down to the last two eggs. I just poked my head in there, observed that at least one of the two eggs is still viable (heard chirping inside), and decided to intervene a little.
Historically, hatch interventions (trying to help a bird out of the egg when they get stuck) have been about a 50-50 prospect. Half the time, they don’t make it.
In this case, it was my assessment the membrane between the shell and duckling was too thick and malleable for the baby duck to break through, so she was likely to suffocate and die. So, I cracked the shell a little around one end, pinched the membrane and tore a small hole in it, then put the egg back in the incubator. At least I know she can get air. I learned the hard way in the past that getting more aggressive against the membrane can be detrimental to the bird for a few different reasons. So, just a minimal change to ensure she can draw air into the otherwise air-tight shell.
Deuce discovered another nest of duck eggs, which I decided (contrary to what I state in this video) to recover and setup of the next incubator run. Had I not, Deuce would have just eaten them.
Got my new IronMaster Quick-Lock Dumbbell System setup.
Also did a quick summary review (limited to “I really LIKE it!”) of a new pair of Trekz Air wireless bone conduction headset by After Shokz, which I use to listen to music on 5-mile “ruck” walks three times a week. REALLY happy with the product.