HELP! Mama left eggs for 4 hours. Chicks are to tomorrow!

[clairabean]

Chicks are due to hatch tomorrow or next day. They have been under the broody hen exclusively. She has been great, but today she was accidently locked out for 4 hours. I went to the coop and the eggs were very cold. I brought them in and set them on a hot water bottle.

Is this the end of them? What do I do? Give them back to Mama?

 

[clairabean]

And I do not have an incubator, nor anywhere to get one on Christmas Eve!

 

[elizabethbinary]

Give 'em back to momma!! Too low of a heat is way better (but still not great) than too high of a heat!! Hopefully at worst you just delayed their hatch a day!

 

[oesdog]

I would put momma in a very small place with her nest so she has no option but to sit on them. I had to do this with my Bertha when a rotten egg exploded over her bum and I had to rescue her and the entire nest of eggs. She didnt; want to go back on the nest so I stuck a new nest box in our small coop which onlt has room for a nest box inside it ( Its one of those triangle coops.) I pushed her in ontop of the eggs and closed the door. She had no where else to go. Those chicks were 18 weeks old before she left them again!!!

Oesdog - Of course she could know more than us and maybe the eggs are not live anyhow???
Worth a try though.

Remember in the wild bird often leave their nests for a longtime - it may only delay the hatch!!! Do put them back with Mom though ASAP.