Duck eggs in water

[Renee76]

Hello
Today we got a fair amount of rain, and my ducks (Mallard) nest washed into the pond. I got her eggs out and put them in a higher area fairly close to where she was nesting, but she would never go back to them (this is her second time nesting) . There were only five eggs in her nest to begin with, and we recovered four. I got a incubator from my dad (he raises chickens) and I am following the directions he gave me. My question is, I know they sit for about 28-30 days and they were due to hatch any day, but they were in the pond around 1-2 hrs. before I got them out. Is their any way these have a chance of surviving?

 

[duckyfromoz]

You could candle them to see if you can detect any movement. At least then you would know if they are still alive at this point.

 

[D'Angelo N Va.]

That is a tricky one...are they in the incubator now?? I wouldn't give up hope. I would like duckyfromoz said candle them and see. I wish you luck...

 

[Renee76]

Yes, they are in the incubator and I candled and all had movement!! I stayed up until 12:45am making sure the temp was staying at 99.5 with no issues. Well, I woke up this morning and glanced over there, the temp was at 110....what in the world!!!! I am so frustrated now to have gotten the eggs out of the water, got the incubator, and stayed up half the night for these little guys....I feel just awful. I am pretty sure they didn't survive the extreme heat because I candled a few minutes ago and seen no movement.

 

[Quacking]

Give them a chance to cool down a bit again, eggs do take a long time to gain and loose heat- so just because the temp reads 110 the core of the egg may not have yet been that high. I hope you still get something to hatch, it may be a small miracle after all they have been through, but I have heard of worse situations like a lady who once threw some eggs onto the compost heap when she thought they wouldnt hatch and two days later found a live chiken peeping its head off on top if the pile.

You did your best, even if you had stayed up all night watching the temp- something else still may have gone wrong. My fingers are crossed for you though.

 

[Renee76]

Thank's Quacking. My DH said the temp was 120 not 110 and I don't know how long it was that high I always go back to "everything happens for a reason".

 

[D'Angelo N Va.]

Hang in there Renee, you have come so far..don't give up now. I am wishing you lots of luck..