So sorry that happened, Michelle but like everyone has said: atleast you can save the other one! Wow it must of been very warm where they were nested, and they never of been able to hatch with no moister to keep from shrinkwrapping - take from it that you saved a baby!
Not to get way off the topic but is it some what normal for a nest of eggs (whether it be duck eggs or chicken eggs) to really have started developing at different stages when you candle? Hope I'm saying this right.. I candled a nest of chicken eggs just last week & the eggs are at different stages. A couple look really close to hatching(full inside the egg), a couple just had the red veins, & a few were not showing anything till I incubated for a few days(now they look fertile). Oh, and the hen that was sitting on that nest, she had hatched 2 babies in a different nest a few weeks ago and i seen her & her babies start sitting on this new nest the next day, but not 24 hours a day. JUST ENOUGH TO HAVE THEM START DEVELOPING? ~Julie~
Quote:Is it possible that other hens are adding eggs to the nest while the broody hen is sitting on it? That would explain the staggered development.
Quote:When my duck was sitting on a nest and she got off for an hour a day, the chickens would race into her nest and all lay like crazy - I think they just liked they bulky nest full of heaps of eggs. I'd have to keep reaching under her to collect the chicken eggs But if you have other ducks/chickens producing fertalised eggs they were probably laying when your duck got off for a break - they always like to lay in the same spot.
You may need to incubate the last developing chicks, as when the mamma's original chicks hatch she may leave the nest with them