Can you eat fertile eggs?

[mommy of two]

If you have fertile eggs does the candling method work the first day their layed? Can you tell that soon?

 

[bugglesmommy]

If you have fertile eggs does the candling method work the first day their layed? Can you tell that soon?

You won't see anything for at least 2-3 days with chicken eggs, possibly longer. When first layed there is no development, and it will take a few days to see development after incubation. You can candle for imperfections like cracks before setting, but you can't see a baby before there is one.

 

[bugglesmommy]

Double post.

 

[mommy of two]

Oh! Ok so now I know why they candle in chicken factories, I thought they were looking for babies! I was wondering how that was possible w/o a rooster!

 

[iron chicken]

Thank you for all the input! I actually think one of our chicks is a roo! It's a barred Plymouth Rock and his tail is way longer and curved than the rest of the chicks and his comb and wattles are much bigger and redder!


And the pic below is our female BR:

So I guess we will be having fertilized eggs after all when they get bigger! I just hope he isn't aggressive, we have two toddlers around the house, they always have hand fed the chicks since they were little so I hope that helps with the chickens dispositions. I have heard that the BRs are docile and friendly, does that include the Roos too?

yes, if the breed is considered docile and friendly the roos will be just that.

 

[Barred4Life]

Am I the only one that think the roosters are the best part about having chicken? I mean, I love hens for the eggs of course, but roosters are so entertaining! And so beautiful! I give my roosters 'hug therapy' from the time they are chicks -- here I mean that each time they are bad I pick them up and hold them until they don't mind and realize humans are the boss -- and I've got super nice roosters!
I use a purebred rooster all the time (so the offsprings don't continually get more and more mixed), and the hens are purebred and mixed. I find sex links can create pretty funky looking birds and I like it!
Here's a photo of my Buckeye rooster and one of my sex link hen, and my Barred Rocks:



I actually find the sex link prettier!! Maybe it's because she's the nicest of the hens and I'm a bit bias?! Hehe.

And then I have my bantams...the rooster is a cross between Mille Fleur D'Uccle and Silver Phoenix and my hens are mixed (they look like game hens). I just hatch some eggs in the incubator (which is such an amazing experience!!) and look at the funky chicks I got...since I don't show my birds, I've really lost interest in this purebred thing. They all lay eggs and they're all beautiful!!







For the candling of the eggs, you'd probably see something around day 3...the beginning, here's what you see at day 5:



But coming back to your original question, as long as you put them in the fridge, nothing will develop and they'll taste and look just like non-fertile eggs (except you'll see a little white bullseye dot--that is if you really look for it!!!).

 

[acsinos]

Thanks! Also if we do decide to hatch the eggs does it matter if they mix breeds? I want a barred rock rooster so what if he bread with one of our Rhode Island Red hens? What would the chick be like?

Isn't a barred rock and RIR called a Red Rock? I think they are some of the crosses that are sold as good layers....

 

[ducks4you]

Yes, I do it all of the time. My two roosters live with their hens. We are about to incubate this season's eggs to get next year's layers bc I replace my layers every year. (Eventually all of my birds make it to the table for dinner.)
If the egg sits out of the heat for over 3 days it will NOT develop. You don't kill it bc so many hens lay and abandon their eggs. I finally had a hen go broody last year. 3/8 eggs that she sat on hatched, which isn't as good as my incubation rates--about 1/2 of THOSE hatch.
We are soooo removed from our food. Don't worry about it. They don't taste any different from the non fertile ones. After awhile I learned to tell which was fertile after I cracked the shell.

 

[steelchair]

Heres my big baby. Daddy was a brahma. Mommy was a red sex link.I agree that roosters are one of the best things about having chickens

 

[steelchair]

Here he is with his little brother. Both from the same hatch.