How long do i leave the ducks sitting?

[Lowerbarn]

Ok, i left my runners to their own devices with the eggs, and we are on day 27 now of the eggs being sat on and i am starting to worry that things might not be going to plan and wonder about the next steps....

It started with one of them sitting, but about 10 days ago one of the others decided to 'help' and they have both been sitting, two nests right next to each other and sometimes when one gets up the other will roll the eggs into her nest and visa versa

Anyway, it has been almost the right amount of time to be seeing something happen, but over the last few days one of them has been removing a couple of the eggs from the nest and getting them away, the eggs are the ones that are dead and could smell or have burst so she is moving them, the one this morning had a clear duckling in there but didn't look anywhere near the size that it should have looked if it was ready to be born

The other day, for the first time in a while, both of them got up so i could manage to get in and have a look at the eggs, was a bit of a rushed job but plenty in there are really dark with only the air sack allowing the light through, which i assumed was a good thing? some are less dark and you can see the veins etc, i wasn't sure if this was a good thing or not, or indeed if these eggs were added later and have started to develop later, so, there are a few questions i guess, and its probably easier in a list....

If there is nothing that is going to hatch, ie if they are all dead, how long will they sit on them before they know, or will it just be ongoing until they all start to smell and be moved? is there a point that they know its been long enough and give up?

If they do start to hatch, and anything comes out, do they then move any old ones themselves, or relocate the babies somewhere away from the nest? my point being is there a point where i know i should go in an clear any old ones after hatching?

Or indeed, if some of them were later eggs, and with one of the ducks sitting late in the process, will she continue on those after some have hatched?

If any of these couple that she has been moving have burst in the nest, will she have cleaned things up or will it cause problems and should i be stepping in and cleaning anything? i couldn't see anything in there the other day but this morning one had been moved and it does smell a bit up near the nest

I did this as a kind of 'well if it happens it happens' and not a planned thing, but i will be gutted now if at least one doesn't hatch after the hard work they have put in to this. If that is the case, is it possible to 'trick' them with a couple of day old ducklings or something? or are they just likely to kill them

Any help would be welcomed. Indeed if there are any better tips on what to look for when candling then i could try and get them both to move again so i can have a better look

 

[Lowerbarn]

I managed to get another look at them just now, hard to see from the videos but there is movement inside a couple of them, but the confusing thing is that tomorrow is 28 days, and there doesn't look to be 'enough' inside there for it to be ready to hatch?

There are some that are darker and you cant really see anything, just like a big black mass and then the air sack, and i got rid of a couple that were clearly not ok as they were just watery liquid inside there with no signs of growth

 

[chickens really]

Keep waiting. Your days are probably off from when she really began to set..Or these were laid after your count began.

 

[Miss Lydia]

I'd say you have some laid latter. Hopefully since you have 2 sitting when the first eggs hatch one will take care of them and the other Runner will continue to sit. Keep us updated.