Abandoned eggs, no incubator... will this work?

[Le Moth]

I put some damp napkins on top of them for humidity.
No thermometer right now as I usually don't hatch or raise chicks (I've had the same hens for the past 3-4 years without adding any chicks, I added a rooster recently and got some chicks, but they're old enough to be without a heat lamp. The ducklings were an accident). Would it be safe to go by how hot it feels, or should I get a thermometer ASAP? I can't get one tonight though.

The sooner you get one the better.

 

[June Chick]

There's a crack in one of the eggs!
Some of the eggs look developed, but it was kinda hard to tell (they are a bit dirty, they were in a nest right under where the chickens roost. So when they got dug around, they got covered in dirt and poop :/ )
I'll get on as soon as I can, but as I said, I do not have the option to get one tonight.

 

[EggWalrus]

Any good news this morning, as in new babies?

 

[June Chick]

No babies, but the crack in the egg is about double the size it was!

 

[EggWalrus]

If possible and if you haven't already, it would help to go get a thermometer. You don't want to cook the babies, and if they are cooler than ideal temp, they could have a really hard time pecking out. If too cold they will waste energy shivering in the egg, instead of breaking out.

 

[Melky]

I have a duck named Hula who recently hatched 6 ducklings, with still 8 eggs to go. Well, she kinda ditched her nest and the chickens decided to dig around and ruined the nest and buried her eggs. I was able to get all of them together, and they're only a day or so from hatching. I have no incubator, so I made a nest, and put a heat lamp right by it... will this work? Is there any small chance it will? I don't want her ducklings to die, and she had no interest in sitting on the eggs anymore.

I put some damp napkins on top of them for humidity.
No thermometer right now as I usually don't hatch or raise chicks (I've had the same hens for the past 3-4 years without adding any chicks, I added a rooster recently and got some chicks, but they're old enough to be without a heat lamp. The ducklings were an accident). Would it be safe to go by how hot it feels, or should I get a thermometer ASAP? I can't get one tonight though.

TSC has some pretty cheap thermometers if near you.

 

[June Chick]

Yes, I will get a thermometer as soon as I can.

What do rotten eggs look like? Do they crack?? The egg that seemed it was hatching doesn't really seem to be hatching, but just cracking. It smells horrid and had a drop of black goo come out of it... I cracked it open just a little more and there was definitely no baby inside, it smelled HORRENDOUS. The other eggs kinda look like it did too, I haven't candled them, but you can see black (not on the shell, inside the eggs itself). I did throw the other one out, but I just want to be sure I'm doing things right.
I am aware there's a possibility none of them are fertile, and if they aren't, I just want to throw them out.

 

[Flockandfowl46]

If they have an opaque grayish look to the underneath of the shell almost for sure they are bad now...mom may have known something you didnt

 

[WVduckchick]

Momma ducks usually know when the last ones aren't going to hatch. Candle them, be very careful handling them! Smell them too.

 

[June Chick]

Yeah, most of them do have that opaque/grayish look.
A couple of them don't though... How do I candle them? I've searched up on it before, but I've also tried had couldn't really tell what I was doing...