Chicken Abandonment

[SamJacobbe]

Okay so I had one hen who was sitting on about eight eggs for the course of three weeks. Then, all of a sudden, yesterday I found her off her eggs and they were kinda cool. I put her back on them and she sat down, but then when I got back from school I found her away from the eggs again, one hatched, and the rest kinda cool. So I brought them inside, put all of them in a plastic bucket with a hand towel underneath and a heat lamp overhead of them.
I don't know what to do to let the few others be able to make it for the next few days, they all should hatch by then. One has punctured the air bubble. Right now I don't have another broody hen like I usually do, and I don't have any sort of incubator. So I really need some ideas on how to keep them good for the next few days so that they'll hatch.

 

[SamJacobbe]

I had heard wet sand with a heat lamp overhead can work, but will it work for chicks about to hatch, and does it even work at all? I really hate to lose any chicks for any reason.

 

[Jessshan8]

I would place some plastic on top like cling wrap and poke holes in it for air. Place a hot wet sponge in the bottom for humidity and if you can place a heat source in there even if it is nothing more than a water bottle filled with hot water and change it out every hour or so. a small light bulb would be better. Good luck!