How do I know if a nest of chiken eggs is abandoned, and if so how do I hatch them?

How do you know she hasn't been back? They usually don't abandon their nests easily, unless something chases them away several times. She is not a reptile. The instructions in your first answer are a mixture of totally wrong for any egg, and hatching reptile eggs. If you had an incubator you might be able to hatch the eggs. The light suggested will cook the eggs. She laid the eggs over a period of 10 to 20 days. Birds lay one egg every other day, sometimes one every day. They do not sit on the eggs immediately. She started sitting after she laid 6 or 7 eggs.Once she starts sitting she usually won't leave the eggs for more than 15 or 20 minutes. If the weather is cold she won't even leave them that long, and if it is hot she may extend the time a little. She will turn the eggs often, reptile eggs must not be turned, bird eggs MUST be turned. Check with a farm supply store or a feed mill for an incubator. If she recently started incubation and the eggs are just beginning to develop you may be able to save them.