Best way to check fertility?

[archeryrob]

We have one Dark brahma rooster and three hens. My daughter wanted to breed some more and I checked all three hens and found only one I wanted in the future line. So we have her and him in a breeders coop, but I have yet to see her submit and him cover her. Of course, I am not over there a lot, but when I have seen him dance she hasn't laid down for him.

I threw the first egg in an incubator last night from the day before and got another one just today and put it in a carton in the basement for now. My assumption is if I get veins on candling in 3 to 4 days I can let the incubator run for the one egg and collets eggs for a week and half, twice and stuff them under the two broody hens we have. My daughter prefers to have the hens hatch them and it put the two slacker back to work and active again.

So if the one in the incubator comes up a dud with no veins in 4 days, is there a quicker way to determine when she has been covered and fertilized?

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

You can also crack one open to look for the bullseye on the blastoderm.

 

[archeryrob]

Yea, I don't think my eye is trained for that very well. Looking at pictures online and I'm like there hardly any difference.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

An unfertilized egg has just the blastoderm circle. A fertilized one had an extra ring around the circle. Once you see it, it's easy to tell.

 

[MGG]

Yea, I don't think my eye is trained for that very well. Looking at pictures online and I'm like there hardly any difference.

If you post a good picture of the egg yolk we'll be able to tell. It's pretty easy. It's the fastest way to tell, and very accurate. The egg in your incubator might be fertile, but quit very early. You would never see veins, and falsely assume it was infertile. Just a common scenario, since the blastoderm disappears after a couple days of incubation.

 

[archeryrob]

Sorry never broke the egg, left it in the incubator as we got a mass. Hatched yesterday at 3:00 and but it in the brooder this morning. How old do the have to be to check feathers or vent for sex?

 

[archeryrob]

Got six eggs almost 2 weeks deep in incubation in the incubator as the broody hens won’t stay on them. They need single coops which I got a rabbit hutch to rebuild into two hatching cages or broody jail breakers by blocking off the nesting box.

then I now have another 10 eggs to set under two weeks old. It’s hard breeding off only one hen, next year will be better for her

 

[MGG]

Sorry never broke the egg, left it in the incubator as we got a mass. Hatched yesterday at 3:00 and but it in the brooder this morning. How old do the have to be to check feathers or vent for sex?

Aw! Cute. You can vent sex now, but you have to be experienced or the chick might prolapse. It should never be done if you're inexperienced. You can't wing sex it unless it's a breed specifically sex linked to have that trait.