Are most eggs that you eat fertilized if you have a rooster?

[Catfish267]

I am really confused with this. I want to use an incubator to hatch chicks this spring and i have 6 hens and 1 rooster. Can I just take the eggs that I eat and put them in an incubator?

 

[sourland]

Yes you can. They will not start developing until they have been incubated.

 

[Sally Sunshine]

I am really confused with this. I want to use an incubator to hatch chicks this spring and i have 6 hens and 1 rooster. Can I just take the eggs that I eat and put them in an incubator?

Hi Catfish! Awesome that you want to incubate! beware its addicting!! Here are my notes Hatching Eggs 101 ~ this is a paste from the hatching 101 ......

Collection & Storage of Eggs
Sources for eggs are to search the BYC buy sell trade section, Craigslist and eBay. Your local thread on BYC may be the best bet for local eggs! Look for your local site in the “Social section” “Where am I? Where are You!” on BYC.

Choose eggs that are of good size, not abnormally big or small. Do NOT set dirty, cracked, or porous eggs. Try not to wash eggs as you will disrupt the protective barrier. Avoid using cloths to clean eggs because this removes the egg's protective coating and exposes it to entry of disease organisms. The washing and rubbing action also serves to force disease organisms through the pores of the shell. Place the eggs upright in an egg carton with the FAT, air cell end of the egg UP! Allow eggs to sit in a moderately cool, somewhat humid place for storage. Basements are great. Moderately cool means 55-65 degrees. Rotate your eggs a 3 times a day to keep the embryo from sticking. An easy way to turn all of the eggs at once is to place a thick book under one end of the carton, and later remove the book and put it under the other end of the carton, 3 times a day. Before adding eggs to the incubator always WARM eggs UP slowly to room temperature. IF THE EGGS ARE COLD Condensation can cause bacterial growth on the eggs! You can collect eggs up until 10 days or so, but after the 7th day lower hatch rates may result. Stored eggs take longer to hatch (about one hour per day of storage).

It is important to ALWAYS wash your hands before handling your hatching eggs!

Omphalitis, yolk sack infection is caused by a bacterium that enters through the porous egg shell and easily kills embryo's and newly hatched chicks. Unfortunately, incubation conditions are ideal for breeding bacteria as well as incubating eggs.
For more information on storing eggs refer to Recommendations for hatching egg handling and storage



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Is it Fertile or Infertile?​

To check the fertility, simply break an egg in a bowl. Find the white spot on the yolk. If you do not, use a spoon to gently flip the yolk over until you find it.


If the egg is fertile, the white mark will be nearly perfectly round and in the center it will be yellow;
it will resemble a donut. If it is infertile, the white mark will not be very round, and in most cases, smaller than that of the fertile mark. If the egg is not fertile, the 'white mark' is called a "blastodisc". If the egg is fertile, the 'white mark' it is called a "blastoderm", and this means that cell division, because of fertilization, occurred. A link with more pics of fertile vs Non Eggs! https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/16008/how-to-tell-a-fertile-vs-infertile-egg-pictures
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and a few other notes in articles.... Guide to ASSISTED Hatching ~ Mushy Chick Disease ~ Cooler Bator

 

[tadpole98]

you can definitly do that, and you probably have a high fertility rate with 6 to 1. Wait 12-24 hours after being laid to set. If you are wanting to store the eggs to gather as many as wanting before setting, store in 55*s and 75% humidity if storing for up to a week. After one week hatch rate will begin to decrease.

 

[chicken pickin]

you can definitly do that, and you probably have a high fertility rate with 6 to 1. Wait 12-24 hours after being laid to set. If you are wanting to store the eggs to gather as many as wanting before setting, store in 55*s and 75% humidity if storing for up to a week. After one week hatch rate will begin to decrease.

Why wait 12-24 hrs after being laid?

 

[tadpole98]

Quote: it settles it, at least thats what i have heard.

 

[chicken pickin]

Hmm I hope 12-24 hrs isnt neccessary... I just set 3 fresh laid eggs this morning along with other eggs.

 

[tadpole98]

Hmm I hope 12-24 hrs isnt neccessary... I just set 3 fresh laid eggs this morning along with other eggs.

its probably fine, i just then googled that and thats what a few websites said. But to be honest i dont know why i said it on here because i have set fresh eggs in the past and had a successful hatch..