Another "Is This Fertilized" Egg Question

[uzisuzuki]

I know there are a bunch of these already posted and that each one has that really great picture with the bullseye on the yolks, but I'm still not sure if I'm reading my hens eggs right (right up there with reading runes and tea leaves it feels like). So, this is my first time tending chickens and I have 1 Silver Sebright rooster (unknown age) and 4 Golden Laced Polish hens (between 7-9 months of age). Two of the hens just started laying eggs last week and this is what they looked like:


(no photo editing)


(some editing on the brightness/contrast)

I thought that I could see a bullseye on the lower one and not the top one, but I'm not at all confident in my assessment because someone who knows more about chickens than me suggested that the top one is the fertile one. I would be most appreciative for more opinions before I decide to buy an incubator and try my hand at hatching. This is more out of curiosity than trying to make money off chicks/fertilized eggs (I honestly didn't think the hens would ever lay eggs because of what I've heard about the breed), so if they're not being fertilized that's okay with me too.

Thanks!

 

[AmericanMom]

I know there are a bunch of these already posted and that each one has that really great picture with the bullseye on the yolks, but I'm still not sure if I'm reading my hens eggs right (right up there with reading runes and tea leaves it feels like). So, this is my first time tending chickens and I have 1 Silver Sebright rooster (unknown age) and 4 Golden Laced Polish hens (between 7-9 months of age). Two of the hens just started laying eggs last week and this is what they looked like:


(no photo editing)


(some editing on the brightness/contrast)

I thought that I could see a bullseye on the lower one and not the top one, but I'm not at all confident in my assessment because someone who knows more about chickens than me suggested that the top one is the fertile one. I would be most appreciative for more opinions before I decide to buy an incubator and try my hand at hatching. This is more out of curiosity than trying to make money off chicks/fertilized eggs (I honestly didn't think the hens would ever lay eggs because of what I've heard about the breed), so if they're not being fertilized that's okay with me too.

Thanks!

Its actually the top one that looks more bulleyish to me... Some eggs its is obvious and some not so much... I have been doing this for a year, incubating eggs, and sometimes I have a hard time..

 

[uzisuzuki]

Thank you! It is kind of a relief to hear that even year-long pros can have a hard time telling.

 

[lazy gardener]

My old eyes aren't working well with your photo. I see what looks like a dark clear spot in the top yolk 1/4" from center at 2:00. That doesn't look like an embryo to me. And think I see a white embryo spot on the bottom yolk also at 2:00. The best way I can describe it is that on an unfertile egg, the spot looks like it is sharply defined, smaller, and more angular. In a fertile egg, the spot is flattened, round, larger, often looking like a bull's eye, but not always.

 

[uzisuzuki]

That's what I needed to know - thank you!

 

[aart]

Top one shows a clearer bulls eye to me in the unedited photo...bottom one looks odd, not sure, could be because it's a pullet egg.

Have you perused this thread?
It shows a plethora of examples of fertile and non-fertile yolks:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/16008/how-to-tell-a-fertile-vs-infertile-egg-pictures

A fertilized blastoderm doesn't always look quite the same, takes some practice/experience......
.......just keep looking and you'll get the hang of it.

 

[TaraBellaBirds]

Top one shows a clearer bulls eye to me in the unedited photo...bottom one looks odd, not sure, could be because it's a pullet egg.

X2. I do think they are both fertilized though the one is just either off a bit, or the camera is making it look off. Seems your roo is doing his job!

 

[lazy gardener]

Unless I'm in a hurry, I make it a point to examine the blastoderm (thanks Aart, for providing the right term.) of every egg I crack. It helps to "practice".

 

[AmericanMom]

Unless I'm in a hurry, I make it a point to examine the blastoderm (thanks Aart, for providing the right term.) of every egg I crack. It helps to "practice".

LOL.. So I am not the only one!!!

 

[aart]

Quote: Oh I'm sure we aren't the only 3!