how do i tell if a chick is forming in an egg?

the rooster in the coop ran away and my hen is constantly sitting on eggs and they were layed a day after he left but is there a way i can see if a chick is developing

Brewster the Rooster (kinda long)?

Fred had been a truck driver for more than 30 years. He decided that he was going to retire from driving a truck and start a chicken farm, to sell eggs. So he sold his truck, bought a farm, all the equipment, and 2000 chickens. He sat back and waited for the eggs.
Two weeks go by, no eggs. A month goes by, still no eggs. 3 months later, he still has no eggs, so he goes down the road to the neighboring chicken farmer and asks. “What am I doing wrong?” Neighbor says “Well, you got your farm, and all your equipment, how many chickens you got?’ “2000″
Man says “How many roosters you got for them chickens?”
Fred says “Roosters? Man I didn’t even think about roosters.” Neighbor says “I got the answer to all your problems. Back here in a cage I got Brewster the Rooster. The most sex crazed animal you will ever see, sell him to you for $20 if you promise not to bring him back here…” Fred looks at the Rooster. Big fine red healthy lookin, so he buys it and takes it home.
When he gets to the farm he takes Brewster from his cage and throws him over the fence into the coop. Before his feet even hit the ground you heard. “Cock A Doodle DOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!” And all 2000 hens came running from thier coops and lined up in rows. Brewster started up one row and down the other stopping at each hen as he went by. Fred says “Brewster you need to slow down or you’ll kill yourself.”
Later when Fred was sittin down to supper he heard a terrible noise from outside. Ran outside to find Brewster tryin to rape the dog. Fred says “Brewster, you need to slow down or you’ll kill yourself.”
All night long there where horrible, frightening noises coming from the barnyard. In the morning when Fred woke up everything was really quiet. Fred walked outside to find that all 2000 of his hens were laying on thier sides with toungues hanging out. A lot of them where dead. The cat was in the top of a tree and the dog had run away.
Fred notices some buzzards circling over the field in front of his house and thinks…”Oh No.” He runs out in the field and sure enough there is Brewster, laying on his back with his wings spread out and feet in the air. A great big smile on his beak. Fred looks at him and says “Dammit Brewster I told you to slow down or you’d kill yourself.”
All of a sudden Brewster opens one eye and says, “Go away Dammit they’re about to land!!!!……..”

how to get hens to use new coop?

i got given 7 hens and made a home made coop i then bought 3 more hens, they got bullied so i bought them a 7ft coop off the internet as felt sorry for them (stupid i know) and iam aware there is a pecking order etc. anyway i put the new hens in the new coop and left them in there for 3 days and when i let them out they went straight back to the old coop at night. my hens run free in the day around 2 fields. why dont they go back to the new coop

if placed with another hen will the 3 chicks get killed?

well we have 4 chicks,as we got 2 coops leading to same run we got 6 hens and 1 cockerel.
Well 3 hens sleep and brood in one coop and the other 3 hens with the cockerel sleep in the other coop. I told my dad that placing the 3 chicks from 1 coop and putting it with the 1 chick and other 3 hens in the other coop wouldnt be a good idea as the hens would kill them as its not their young. This is stressing me out incredibly. I cannot stress to him enough that what he has done is incorrect, and he just wont listen to me and keeps telling me to keep my nose out.
is what im saying correct?

If my hen lays a fertilized egg and I find it cool (temp wise) can it still be incubated?

I got my silkie rooster a silkie hen and they mate all the time so I know the egg is fertilized. I have had her two days and have gotten an egg everyday since we picked her up.

So in this scenario, I go outside to their coop/run and find an egg. I touch it and it is cool so I run it inside and stick it in the nice, warm incubator.

Will it hatch or does it have to be still warm from where a chicken has just layed it?

I don’t have the incubator yet, and am waiting until Christmas to ask for one (I’m 14) And the model I am wanting hold 70 chicken eggs and is 150 dollars. I only have one pair of silkies but am hoping to branch out and add more to my poultry family

Thanks for the advice! I will pick best answer!

What do you think of this ‘The Hen Is Back And The Fight Is On!’ morning pome?

The DaVinci Code.
Constantine, and
Stigmata…oh what
A beautiful morning.

Oh what a beautiful day.
Election Day is tomorrow.
And no sleep tonite…out of
Sheer fright!!! Biting nails…

ssssshhhh! Chicks are asleep,
All cozy under Snidely’s
Fat self…all five of them.
Three days old this morning…

WHO’S-FAT-DOODLEEEEEE-KEEP-QUIET!!!
Bull! 3 day old chicks are
Running all over you now!
First pin feathers at 5 days…

And, ole boy, you and chicks
Are OUT the coop this morning!
OH-NO-WE’RE-NOT-COLD-OUTSIDE!!!!
That’s when you SIT on them,

Snidely!!! Out in the yard…
Must you be taught chick-
Rearing, too?
I-HATCHED-EM!!!SAT-21-DAYS-ON-EM!!!

That don’t mean squat…now
You gotta teach em how to
Eat, what to eat, why to eat…
And what birds to run from!

Hen ain’t here yet…uh oh!!!
Noises from the yard…what?
I’M-RIGHT-HERE-AND-THOSE-CHICKS-ARE-MINE!!!!
Uh, Snidely, the problem is here, now!

LAWYER-UP-CORNGIVER-SHE-AIN’T-GETTIN-EM!!!

Looks like a fight is in
The making…now, today!
Thought the fight would
Be tomorrow….crap!!!

Hen…stay outside.
Snidely…stay inside.
I’ll tend to this when I
Get back from work

This Evening!!!

Good Morning! Good Morning!
Ya’llses!!!

Should have put this pome under Sports Trivia, or Election Fighting Free-For-Alls…
yjnt….HA! You’re right!!!

It’s a POME!!!

do you know the old fashion way of breeding chickens?

a farmer has his own coop where he stock about 20 hens and a rooster <-seriously traditional
he tot it’s time that he buy a new rooster coz the old one is..well, OLD.

conversation of the new rooster and the old rooster:
old: new here, huh?
new: yeah.. i think we dont need u here anymore. i’m here. i can “take care” all of them *eyeing the hot hens running around*
old: hey, tink im old? let’s have a competition.
new: competition! u sure?
old: we run from here to that fence over there. see who’s the winner. winner takes all
new: huh, tat’s it??
old: but…
new: wat?
old: im quite old. can i run first and u’ll folow after.. say.. 8 seconds?
new: no prob, old mate!
old: ok..set, 1, 2, go!

the old ran. 8 seconds later, the new ran too..
the hens were all cheering. some for the old, some for the new.
the new rooster was really, really fast.. the new was almost catching up wit the old…

“bang!!” <- gun fired

farmer: damn!!! y do i always got a gay rooster??

Have you ever read about Snidely’s morning?

Snidely opened an eye.
Was it really her? Here?
Rooster heart beat wild!
Snidely sidled toward her
On the roost.

What beauty of beak!
Comliness of tailfeather!
Breathtaking talons!
Screeching of SQUAWK!

SQUAWK? And, a painful
PECK! It was Old Mean Hen!
Coop was brightening…
No Gertrude Gull!

Off the roost! Out the door!
Old Mean Hen on his tail!
Down from the sky, his Valkyrie
Gull! The fight was on!

Old Mean Hen on the run!
Lovely Gullness…coo-coo-coo…
“Etchings in the coop, my pretty!”
CLOCK-A-DOODLE! What was that?

Bring your breakfast?
Make your coffee?
Paint your talons?
BUT, you were so sweet
In Biloxi!!!

Moral: Mornings happen to
EVERYONE!!

A GOOD one for you!

Good Morning!
Naw, not a villain…just an A-CHOO! rooster, with a questionable ‘love life’!

Is this a good coop for ducks?

http://cgi.ebay.com/Chicken-Poultry-coop-Hen-house-Cage-6ft-RUN-002-A-/110549323960?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item19bd40d0b8#ht_4950wt_910

I think it’s a really good one, but are the nesting boxes too small and is the run the right size for about 5 ducks?
please b nice =D im really excited to get this coop but dont know if its a good fit so if it isnt make suggestions please . (preferably under $500 and with a nice size run)
Yes, this coop would be placed on a lawn, but within 30 ft of a pond, and they would get supervised swimming in it every day. I also purchased a plactic (non-inflatable) swim pool at a pet store that seemed like it would be the proper size for both full-grown ducks and for ducklings, with less water in it. Since in the summer, they would be allowed to run outside while supervised once a day, (they will mostly stay in the run in the winter but will sometimes come out) I will move this small pool into the run during the spring and summer (but so the run is big enough only put it in some of the time and when they will be let out and supervised for exersize later =D thank you=D let me know if this coop is the right fit under these conditions (if the run is not predator-proof enough, i will do whatever it takes to strengthen it(maybe extra chicken wire)

ps. the property these ducks would go on already has chickens (that would be in aseparate coop obviously) and they have had no problems wh