Chicken /egg question

Grendal1963 · Apr 19, 2016

Hi I sure hope that this isn't to corny of a question
I picked up my chickens on April 15/16 and for 3 days my brother in law peter had kept them in his coop with his hens and a rooster , I don't have a rooster, so my question is . If my hens were with a rooster for three days does that mean that my hens eggs are fertilized eggs , or do I need to have a rooster in with them all the time for that to be the case. I know that I don't need a rooster to have my hens lay eggs I'm just curious about them already being exposed to a rooster ?

Ol Grey Mare · Apr 19, 2016

They *may* be fertile - however, it is also possible that three days was not sufficient time for them to accept the rooster's advance (if he made them) as it can take longer than that for a hen to allow herself to be mated. One thing you can do is crack an egg or two and examine the germinal disc for signs of the tell-tale bullseye mark indicating that the egg was fertilized -- or you can set some and candle to check for development.