Am I setting myself up for disaster?

[Tonyroo]

I've hatched chicken eggs that have been refrigerated for about 3 weeks and some on the kitchen counter for slightly over a month. It shouldn't be no different for duck eggs.

 

[Weeg]

"The warmth of incubation turns the contaminated egg into a factory for bacteria reproduction, often killing the embryo and spreading to nearby eggs"
https://ecochickspoultry.com/taking-care-of-fertile-eggs-before-incubation/

You are correct, that is why we always keep the bator clean an I contaminated. If you wish your heads or wear rubber gloves before opening the bator, you greatly reduce that risk.
Anyway, just my experience and research.

 

[McChooky]

The coating helps reduce bacteria risk. Your correct that it increases the risk of bacteria entering the egg, but it doesn’t garrentee that they have a bad chance at hatching. Eggs that are washed can hatch without any problems.

I hope they continue to do well. They do have a slim chance.

 

[Priscila Leone]

Unfortunately my favorite duck was eaten by a fox She was just starting to lay eggs. I placed 10 of her eggs that she layed beginning the week after she started in to the incubator and shockingly they are all developing beautifully! They were from the fridge! Problem is, being that she was a new layer the eggs are really small... Are the ducklings going to be tiny and weak? Should I just give up now? It would be such a shame not to give them a chance, but I'm worried that they won't be able to survive. Thoughts?

If they are developing, why stop? DON'T! No, from my experience small eggs won't produce small or weak birds, likewise, large eggs won't produce necessarily large birds. You should go ahead and see what you get, and let your favourite duck, through her descendents live. It doesn't cost that much to keep your incubator running. Let us know the results! Interesting experiment. Good luck!

 

[Love Ducklings]

Thank you everyone!!! Thankfully they were not washed! My main concern is that they are so tiny. Should I expect early hatchers and late term deaths?

 

[Love Ducklings]

Op, can you post some photos? Is it possible they are fairy eggs? I do t have much experience with incubating odd eggs, but am following along as it is interesting to me.

Definitely not fairy eggs. She just started laying for the first time so naturally her eggs would be smaller. Around half of them are almost full size, but the first four are really small gradually getting bigger.