Mother duck died, can eggs be saved?

[Hatch and Learn]

A friend of mine had a mother duck lay eggs in their backyard. Today her husband found the mother duck dead, but they are not sure how long it's been. We just finished hatching chicks, so we have put the eggs from the nest in our incubator. After candling a few I'm not really sure they are viable, and also not sure what day of incubation we are on. My friend is pretty sure that it hadn't been longer than 24 hours. Unfortunately the weather today was cold, so I'm sure that didn't help. So my questions are.... Does anyone have any idea on if we are wasting our time, and if not, what should I be looking for to determine how far along the eggs are? We have a self turning incubator, so I want to make sure I increase the humidity and remove the turner before the ducklings hatch. I have never hatched ducks before, so any information would be greatly appreciated. Lastly, if they do hatch, who would we reach out to in order to have the ducklings released back to the wild safely?

 

[NatJ]

Does anyone have any idea on if we are wasting our time, and if not, what should I be looking for to determine how far along the eggs are?

For any eggs that might be alive or might be dead: if they are alive, they should grow over the next few days. If they are dead, they will not grow. So one way to see if they are alive is to try incubating for a few days and then candle again.

https://thechosenweeds.com/duck-eggs-versus-chicken-eggs/
This page has photos of candled duck eggs at various numbers of days. That may help with guessing age. I just looked at the picture but did not read the rest of the page, so I don't know how much other information is there.

Lastly, if they do hatch, who would we reach out to in order to have the ducklings released back to the wild safely?

It is probably best to reach out to them as soon as possible, so you know the right answers before any ducklings have time to hatch. For example, you probably do not want the baby ducks to imprint on any humans, if they are supposed to return to the wild.

For who to contact, probably a Wildlife Rehabilitator.

For how to locate one, you could try doing an internet search, or maybe try asking the local Fish & Game, or Wildlife Management, or Department of Natural Resources, or whatever they are called in your area (the ones that deal with hunting licenses and fishing licenses and things like that.)

Or maybe try calling the local animal shelter or police department and ask them who to contact. (The non-emergency police number, of course.) I do not expect the animal shelter or the police to actually deal with eggs or ducklings, but I do expect them to know who you should contact.