Chicks eight hours in cold surviving?

[Y master]

Hello everyone,
We were away for a night and hired someone to look after our chooks (and pigs) and we told her not to take the eggs out from the broody hen when she collects the eggs... But she did and put them in a bowl in a tub in the rain. She collected the eggs this morning so it's been about eight hours since they've had any warmth and it's day 18. I opened one (and found out these were the eggs from under broody) to a chick that was starting to hatch (or that the lady broke the egg when putting the eggs in the bowl) but died. I threw that egg out (because it was dead) and put the others back under the broody hen .Is there any way they could've survived eight hours in the cold on day 18?
Thanks .

 

[Blooie]

Believe it or not, yes! I have a friend whose incubator was out due to inadvertently leaving the cover off her incubator for something like 12 or 14 hours, and she still had a great hatch. Others have reported eggs still hatching after the coop and a nest being totally flooded - in one case as in the nest floated away, leaving the eggs. Giver her a chance...,if you toss them all then that’s a guarantee they won’t have a chance.

 

[sumi]

I had a broody hen misplace an egg once and it rolled out of the coop and into the rain, where it laid, drenched and cold, for a few hours, before I found it. I slipped it back under the hen and it hatched out fine 3 days later. Chick embryos are incredibly tough little things!

 

[Y master]

Believe it or not, yes! I have a friend whose incubator was out due to inadvertently leaving the cover off her incubator for something like 12 or 14 hours, and she still had a great hatch. Others have reported eggs still hatching after the coop and a nest being totally flooded - in one case as in the nest floated away, leaving the eggs. Giver her a chance...,if you toss them all then that’s a guarantee they won’t have a chance.

Thank you! I have them back under her and listened to one of the eggs which sounded like pecking or a heartbeat.

 

[aart]

OyVey!!
Best of cLuck!

 

[Y master]

Actually I think it was around six hours.

 

[Blooie]

Keep us posted!!!

 

[Y master]

Keep us posted!!!

Will do!

 

[No More Empty Nest]

She must have thought that hen was quite the prolific layer!

 

[Y master]

Hey everyone. Sorry for the late reply. Five chicks hatched under the broody but she ate one so i had to take them away from her. The four of them are all happy and healthy!