Bullseye fertility question

[JacksFarmNGardn]

When you see a bullseye in the egg to check fertility, is there supposed to be a white dot in the middle? I have a silkie egg I swear looks fertile, but was told by another breeder, that mine have white in the middles and that there should only be the ring. There are no males in the coop/pen, I am 100% sure. There are 5 sexlinks, and the 2 silkies. Both silkies lay.

 

[AustralorpsAU]

When you see a bullseye in the egg to check fertility, is there supposed to be a white dot in the middle? I have a silkie egg I swear looks fertile, but was told by another breeder, that mine have white in the middles and that there should only be the ring. There are no males in the coop/pen, I am 100% sure. There are 5 sexlinks, and the 2 silkies. Both silkies lay.

If there are no males you are not going to get fertilised eggs!

 

[rebrascora]

My understanding of the fertile bulls-eye on an egg is that the centre spot remains but develops a slight halo effect around it. There is still a spot in the middle though. I do think there is a lot of variation though and therefore open to interpretation, so perhaps not as accurate as people would have you believe.

It would be interesting to see a photo of your egg to see what people's opinion of it is.

 

[JacksFarmNGardn]

I do have roo's, just not in with them. I asked a local facebook page, and someone said my roo could have jumped the fence, mated the silkie then came back. I find it highly unlikely. I'm in and out at least a doz times a day, and the lattice board is not permanent, he would have knocked it over jumping on it then over. No other hens eggs look like this. I suppose i could just incubate for a week to check for veins the toss it in the trap ifthere are. I cant hatch right now. I moreso wanted to know about the white in the middle of the bullseye. I was told that meant unfertile.

 

[AustralorpsAU]

I do have roo's, just not in with them. I asked a local facebook page, and someone said my roo could have jumped the fence, mated the silkie then came back. I find it highly unlikely. I'm in and out at least a doz times a day, and the lattice board is not permanent, he would have knocked it over jumping on it then over. No other hens eggs look like this. I suppose i could just incubate for a week to check for veins the toss it in the trap ifthere are. I cant hatch right now. I moreso wanted to know about the white in the middle of the bullseye. I was told that meant unfertile.

That is a fertile egg. A roo must have got in somehow!

 

[JacksFarmNGardn]

This is an egg from the breeder i was talking to. They said that if there is the white dot in the middle regardless of any ring around it, it is not fertile. Their egg is just a ring.

 

[AustralorpsAU]

This is an egg from the breeder i was talking to. They said that if there is the white dot in the middle regardless of any ring around it, it is not fertile. Their egg is just a ring.

I don't believe that at all! Have a look through this thread!
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/16008/how-to-tell-a-fertile-vs-infertile-egg-pictures/10

 

[rebrascora]

I agree. Your egg looks fertile to me too and if you have a roo in the next pen then he is the likely culprit. The other possibility is that if you haven't had the silkie very long, she is still fertile from a rooster that she was with before you got her.... but 3-4 weeks would probably be the absolute maximum time line on that.

The photo of the breeders egg shows one of those unusual variations in my opinion.... but as I said, it's not always a clear cut method of determining fertility because of the variation.... more of a guide. Please keep us updated if you do incubate some of her eggs.

 

[JacksFarmNGardn]

I bought 3 at tsc for $1 each when they were like 2 wks old, then had a few people give me 12 more! Lol! I only took them to process, but when i did, i decided to keep 2, and if one goes broody it stays and the other goes. Here is another pic. I wish i could find more information on the bullseyes. That breeder i talked to said they had asked with their own eggs that looked like mine and were not fertile. Just getting opinions before deciding to waste a wks worth of electricity! Lol!

 

[aart]

My understanding of the fertile bulls-eye on an egg is that the centre spot remains but develops a slight halo effect around it. There is still a spot in the middle though. I do think there is a lot of variation though and therefore open to interpretation, so perhaps not as accurate as people would have you believe.

Exactly!