Cold eggs

[Lokale90]

Went down to check on our girl who went broody; hatching day is just around the corner! When I opened the lid to the nesting boxes she wasn’t there. I initially thought she had gotten up to eat or drink briefly until I looked to my right & noticed she was on a different nest. There was a new egg in with the other 3 she has been sitting on, so I imagine someone came to lay an egg in hers while she had gotten up, possibly still there by the time she came back & maybe that caused some sort of confusion leading her to find a new nesting box with an egg in it. Her eggs are cold. I don’t know how long she has been off of them other than some point between 830am-2:30pm. At least one of them is due to hatch the 28th. The due dates are kind of spotty. This is my first time & other eggs had been added to the initial one she laid at some point in the following days (I’ve since received advice on how to prevent this confusion in the future). Is there a way to check if the chicks are still alive in there or has the damage already been done?

 

[writerskramp]

A brooding hen you can not remove from the nest.. a wannabe will just leave... lest you like being pecked..

 

[50-45-1]

This is a common problem when allowing your broody to be situated with access to her clutch by other hens.
It's hard to say if the eggs are still good, but I would put her back on them pronto and let her continue. Take the fresh egg out.
If she is close to hatching day, I'm not sure I would advise to move her.
It also sounds like you have staggered batch ( not all eggs due to hatch at same time.
Do you have an incubator? If so let her hatch the first two then put the last in the incubator to finish. Slide the chick under her after dark and she will accept it.
If not you could set up a brooder and take the chicks as they hatch, this way she will continue hatching the remaining eggs. Although she may not accept the older chicks back and also they will not likely bond to her if they are older than a couple days.
Good luck!
Here is my article about hatching eggs. Good info for next time.
GUIDE TO THE SELECTION, STORAGE AND HANDLING OF CHICKEN HATCHING EGGS