I mentioned that we were incubating some duck eggs for a friend at the allotments. Duck eggs take a whole four weeks to hatch, and the exact due date is 6pm tomorrow evening.
The first one has arrived a day early.
We noticed that one of the eggs had “pipped” this morning. By afternoon, there were two more. Here’s the egg that has hatched first.
It took him a while, but gradually the chick chipped his way round the shell. Eventually his bill emerged, and we could hear him cheeping.
Getting out of the shell was a struggle. He’d push, and the crack in the shell would open out, but the membranes kept pulling it shut again. But finally he made it.
It looks as though we’ll get another one later this evening. The first one is resting and gradually drying out. To be continued with pictures of cute fluffy ducklings tomorrow …
