Eating fertilized eggs

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MamaSwanson

MamaSwanson

Hatching
Aug 29, 2015
2
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7
Graham, Washington.









I have 4 pullets and 1 cockerel. I love Poppy. Hes the sweetest roo ive ever met.

I would like to keep him but the whole purpose of me getting chickens was to have an egg supply.

How do I go about with keeping a rooster and eating the eggs?

Ive read you can eat fertilized eggs, but is there a certain amount of time that I have to collect them?

Any health concerns with eating fertilized eggs?

Can i eat fertilized eggs while being pregnant?

Any health benefits to eating fertilized eggs?

Do they taste any differently or look different from unfertilized eggs?
 
The only difference between eating fertilized eggs and infertile eggs is that if you incubate the fertilized ones, they'll turn into chicks in about 21 days. I collect mine daily, whether I have a rooster in the flock or not just so I can keep them fresh and clean and keep the hens from possibly breaking them, when going in and out of the nest. There are no health concerns or benefits that I know of from eating fertile eggs, and yes - you can eat them while pregnant. They taste the same as the infertile ones. The only way you can tell if one is fertilized or not is, when you crack it open and look VERY closely at the white spot on the yolk. It has more of a "bulls eye" appearance than the infertile one, but can be hard to see, even for those used to looking for it.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/16008/how-to-tell-a-fertile-vs-infertile-egg-pictures
 
The thing about fertilized eggs that a lot of people don't realize is that fertilized eggs don't start developing right after they're laid unless they are kept constantly heated within a specific temperature range. This is why a hen can lay an egg a day for a week, start sitting on them at the end of that week, and they will all hatch on the same day. If you collect daily there is no risk of eating a partially developed chick. Even if you miss a day, if your hens aren't broody and don't sit on the eggs there won't be any development of the embryos.
 
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I hate to break this to you, but I'm pretty darn sure Fawn is a cockerel also. A profile shot of the bird standing naturally would help confirm.

As long as you collect your eggs every day or every other day, you'll never know they're fertile. it takes a trained eye to tell the difference when you crack them. Unless they're incubated at 100 degrees for a few days, you won't have any development. I've kept roosters with my layers all my life and never once cracked an egg with a nasty surprise inside.
 
I agree, Fawn looks like a cockerel to me also. While they may be friendly towards you now that may change when they hit maturity.
 

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