Fertilized eggs

[Toddrick]

Is it still okay to eat the eggs if you put them right in the fridge before they have time to develop?

Yes, yes, yes. All of my eggs are fertile, and we eat them and give them away and never had a complaint. Incubation occurs at close to 100f, a fridge is 40f.

In the wild birds lay eggs for days or weeks before slbeggining to sit on them. That is so they all will hatch at the same time, because they don't start growing until they sit on them.

 

[aart]

Is it still okay to eat the eggs if you put them right in the fridge before they have time to develop?

A fertilized egg will not develop until it's kept at 100 degrees F for more than 24 hours.
A lot of folks with roosters don't even put eggs in the fridge, just keep them on the kitchen counter.

 

[mechanic57]

Noticed there are some new people here so I thought I'd share some info about eggs. The eggs come out of the chicken with an invisible layer around the shell called the bloom. Egg shells have pores that bacteria can get through so the bloom keeps out bacteria. You can let the egg sit on the counter at room temp for days and even weeks and it will be fine to eat, or if you want you can incubate fertilized eggs so it can develop and hatch. Once you wash the egg though, the bloom is removed and should be refrigerated if not used right away. There's plenty of detail on this site about how to wash and store eggs.

For fertilized vs unfertilized eggs, if you look at the yolk, you'll see a small white dot within the yellow yolk. It will be a single white dot if unfertilized. A fertilized egg with have the same white dot with concentric rings around it and look like a bulls eye.




picture found at fresheggsdaily.com and taken by university of Kentucky poultry extension.