My hens eggs didnt hatch.....................................

I have 99% decided to get my hens some babies. She was scheduled to hatch yesterday and hasn't. I hate for her hard work to go to waste so, I have almost decided to slip her in some. First question our nest boxes are up off the ground. A baby couldn't get in or out of it. What do I need to do about that? Second do I keep them in a separate area or let them free range as usual? this is s pic of my coop. do the mama and babies need to stay in there?
this is the nest box and its about 3 feet off the floor.

Wait another day before getting her chicks to raise. It is unusual for chicks to hatch a day or 2 late under a broody, but it can happen. I've had a batch start hatching on day 22 and finish on day 25 under a broody once. If you'd live for the hen and chicks to sleep in that nest box you will have to construct a ramp of some sort for the chicks. Or you can put a "broody box" on the floor for them to use at first. If you get her some chicks to raise wait until it's dark before slipping them under her and remove her unhatched eggs at the same time. This way she will wake up to the chicks and be more accepting.

You can let the hen raise her chicks with the rest of the flock, or keep them separate at first. Ideally she should stay in with the flock though, so they can get to know the chicks and accept them as part of the group from the start. There is a small possibility that the older chickens may harm or kill the chicks though, so keep an eye on them at first and be prepared to move them if needed. If you do move them, keep them separate only for the first 2-3 weeks, so the chicks can get stronger and the hen will have time to bond with them and get used to her new role. Then introduce them as a group to the flock, while the chicks are still under mom's protection. She should wean them when they are around 6-7 weeks old.

thanks, well I am afraid to keep waiting on the eggs the other day 2 had already busted stink . yesterday I let my husband break one open and it was nothing. then this morning there is another that has busted and stink. so I am thinking its a no go this time for some reason I don't know why. thanks for all the great advice.

ok I just finished putting the babies under her.

sumi said:

Wait another day before getting her chicks to raise. It is unusual for chicks to hatch a day or 2 late under a broody, but it can happen. I've had a batch start hatching on day 22 and finish on day 25 under a broody once. If you'd live for the hen and chicks to sleep in that nest box you will have to construct a ramp of some sort for the chicks. Or you can put a "broody box" on the floor for them to use at first. If you get her some chicks to raise wait until it's dark before slipping them under her and remove her unhatched eggs at the same time. This way she will wake up to the chicks and be more accepting.

You can let the hen raise her chicks with the rest of the flock, or keep them separate at first. Ideally she should stay in with the flock though, so they can get to know the chicks and accept them as part of the group from the start. There is a small possibility that the older chickens may harm or kill the chicks though, so keep an eye on them at first and be prepared to move them if needed. If you do move them, keep them separate only for the first 2-3 weeks, so the chicks can get stronger and the hen will have time to bond with them and get used to her new role. Then introduce them as a group to the flock, while the chicks are still under mom's protection. She should wean them when they are around 6-7 weeks old.

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thanks for hlping me

You take care of the chicken very well

Did you guys ever candle the eggs to see if they were developing? We just had a broody hen hatch out some eggs last week. We got her 13 eggs, a few broke along the way, but we candled them at day 7 and 14 and saw most were developing. We were so sad when day 21 came and went with nothing happening. 1 chick hatched out on day 22 and I figured that was all she was going to get. We decided to give it one more day, and I am so glad we did because 3 more hatched on day 23. This was our first time hatching eggs, and this was her first time being broody so I wasn't sure what to expect. We left her in with the flock the entire time. Our nest boxes are floor level with a 4 inch "lip" in front to keep the shavings in. Momma and babies stayed in the nest box for a couple days, When the babies were about 4 days old she led them all out of the nest box on a little field trip around the rest of the coop lol. They never went back to the nest box, they have just settled in on the floor in the corner of the coop, so we moved the chick's food & water over there. The next day she took them out into the run. The rest of the flock has been surprisingly very cool with the chicks. We have been out there a lot looking for signs of aggression and we were prepared to move momma & babies but I think they are going to be alright.

I am glad you got your broody some chicks, I probably would have done the same! To sit on that nest for 3 weeks with nothing to show for it would have been heartbreaking!

everything looks good out there this morning. she hasn't come off the nest with them yet. the nest is about 3 ft off the floor. the man I bought them from said they were about 3 days old they look like 3 to one week old to me. I know they have been eating the starter food so im not sure if they are hungry or not. I don't really know what to do at this point but I guess let her handle it from here maybe. also its raining here today has been all morning. I hope she doesn't get them out in it YIKES!

oh yeah and i did candle the eggs and they didn't look right. even after we busted them thye were just yolky. I don't know what happen

It sounds like the eggs were infertile I'm glad you got her some babies to fuss to over. How many did you get?