how long can a duck wander off a nest before eggs die?

[spish]

my mallard on the nest in the garden (with my chicken eggs under her as well as her own!) has wondered off. i thought maybe shed gone for a bite to eat but hasnt came back after 2 hours. is this normal??? wont the eggs go cold? (its pouring down here and very cold)
should i bring the eggs in??? shes been sitting for 2 weeks now..seems such a waste to let the chicks die? or is 2 hours without 'mum' ok??

 

[duckyfromoz]

Is she back on the nest now or still off?

Two hours is a little long if it was a regular thing every day.

If she is back sitting again now- it would be best to let her stay and do her thing however - Keep an eye on her and if she takes off for that long again tomorrow I would consider putting at least some of those eggs in to an incubator.

 

[spish]

no shes still not back. i took 2 eggs inside to candle and it seems thy were both infertile, so i cracked them both open and both contained tiny embryos that looked like they'd died early on (smelly)
so i took my chickens eggs and candled them too. all 4 contained embryos that appear to have died early on.
so im guessing something happened at the beginning of the hatch to kill of the chicks and she's abandoned the nest?

 

[duckyfromoz]

Sorry to hear that...

Hope you have better luck next time.