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The egg goes dormant after it is laid. A fertile egg has an ovum that has divided once or twice before then. You can barely tell if an egg is fertile.
Crack open an egg and on one side of the yolk you will see a white spot. On a fertile egg, that spot will be a little bit bigger with an upraised yellow outer ring. Some say it will look more like a donut.
There really is no difference between a fertilized egg and a not fertilized egg--except some of us have compulsion to toss them into the bator.....
The other Rooster question that your were asking is about separating the Rooster. You may have to but only to protect the backs of the poor hens if he is too frisky.
. They will all be much happier with a well behaved Rooster to guide and protect them. That is the natural way for chickens and once you see it you will really like it.
I am also one who has hatched fertile eggs from Trader Joe's Market.
..was shopping today in Placerville and saw fertile eggs at Save-Mart! Brown eggs, too, so I wouldn't get White Leghorns. Hmmm. Double hmmm. For next time I incubate.
Quote: Yup and as said above, you can take them out of the refrigerator at the store and hatch them. I too hatched some Trader Joe leghorns for the heck of it. Got 8 out of 12 too!
Yup and as said above, you can take them out of the refrigerator at the store and hatch them. I too hatched some Trader Joe leghorns for the heck of it. Got 8 out of 12 too!
Well if I ever get an incubator now I know how to freak someone out! Just take an egg out of the fridge and pop it in the ol' bater!
So, if they're fertilized and in the fridge they go dormant and don't grow, right? But if you put em in the right environment, like a bator or under a hen's butt they they do. Think I got it.
Yup and as said above, you can take them out of the refrigerator at the store and hatch them. I too hatched some Trader Joe leghorns for the heck of it. Got 8 out of 12 too!
Bah ha Well if I ever get an incubator now I know how to freak someone out! Just take an egg out of the fridge and pop it in the ol' bater!
So, if they're fertilized and in the fridge they go dormant and don't grow, right? But if you put em in the right environment, like a bator or under a hen's butt they they do. Think I got it.
Just know the fertility rate goes way down the older eggs get, just like any other fertilized egg. We nutcase hatchers dig around in the store egg cooler to get the freshest refrigerated eggs. Usually determined by the Julian date stamped on the cartons and "Best by" date sometimes stamped right on the egg itself.
Does anyone use this waterer? They have them at the feed store for like $50 and I like it but wanted to research them before buying. When I tried to look it up I can't find anything on them! This is the only photo Google could come up with! I took a snapshot of the one's at the store to see if they had any branding on them and the only thing they say is "Auto Cage Fount" and down in little tiny print, "Available from C.G. Smith Dist" which didn't come up with any hits either.
This being the only matched photo I could find of it goes to a blog that doesn't have any info.
Just know the fertility rate goes way down the older eggs get, just like any other fertilized egg. We nutcase hatchers dig around in the store egg cooler to get the freshest refrigerated eggs. Usually determined by the Julian date stamped on the cartons and "Best by" date sometimes stamped right on the egg itself.
That's awesome, I love it! Are the chicks from the store-eggs any good? Is it basically like getting hatchery chicks but only you're doing the hatching?
Does anyone use this waterer? They have them at the feed store for like $50 and I like it but wanted to research them before buying. When I tried to look it up I can't find anything on them! This is the only photo Google could come up with! I took a snapshot of the one's at the store to see if they had any branding on them and the only thing they say is "Auto Cage Fount" and down in little tiny print, "Available from C.G. Smith Dist" which didn't come up with any hits either.
This being the only matched photo I could find of it goes to a blog that doesn't have any info.
I use a similar waterer, but mine is round and has a cone shaped top to prevent roosting or perching on it.
I love it! And the birds like it, too.
If you have ducks, and set it up either outside or in a coop with a dirt floor, put it on some sort of grate so there is less chance of them drilling in mud next to it..... Then billing mud into the waterer.
all 8 eggs that made it to lockdown hatched. Woot! We have one surprise crested. I thought I had waited long enough for the sperm to clear for that male (was at least 3 weeks) but I guess not. Lol I hope she's a she! I try to learn how to vent sex ducklings this weekend. Wish me luck and hopefully I manage not to hurt any babies. Eek!
Too true. Love those babies, Amy! I really want some Welsh Harlequins but I don't know how well they'd mix with our Pekins. Would the male Pekin hurt the Harlequin ladies because of his size? Our Pekins are so bonded I have a hard time imagining them welcoming others into the fold, so to speak.
And those pictures are so cute, Ron! I can't wait to set our next eggs. I've got the bug.
Do you want me to claim some of celtics eggs and have em sent to you? If so, PM me. ALSO, look out on craigslist or around town for people selling the boxes they ship fruit in, We can get them for free or 20 in the summer when they ship a lot of bananas. . We either cut them in 1/2 and make small coops, or use the whole thing and just put a door on it if you want a coop on the ground. Does not help with the run, but its easy broodie coop, grow out pen, silkie land, etc..etc..etc...
Yeah, I contain any outer laughter to myself if someone actually says that to me. Besides, I'm still a total noob and am about to ask a noob questions about roosters! Ready.... Here goes...
Ok, so we know we have one Roo for sure! We have friends that have a rooster and they don't separate him from the ladies. Are they eating fertilized eggs? Will I need to make Sprinkles a roo cave and keep him from getting frisky with the girls?
OMG HEINOUS! Someone arrest Ron. My ee's are NOT off color, they are cl/ee, but it seems like I should call them ee's I call them ultra Mega ee's to make a distinction. I think the crele coloring makes them breast sexable earlier then ee's so I'm happy. It was my discovery of the week.
I moved my last 2 silkie broodies out of the bbs shed. They are on my covered porch. In a flurry of excitement, I got 4 eggs and a tiny pullet egg today from them! I think they were holding off until there was somewhere to lay. NO wonder smokey and Pretty had so many eggs under them.
I got bresse chicks! They were a bit early, due this weekend. Then I thought Id trade some eggs and all of a sudden went swap crazy. I have Iowa blues, Some of Mr Heinze SQ heritage RIR's, cochins, SLW, guineas, and buckeyes comming! Ron, come stroke my egg boxes.....
Dolly, Our big buff orphington I rescued last year from someone who did not want a broody chicken went broody yesterday.
Im going to be ordering Huge quail and some exotics from James MArie farms on monday. if anyone wants to piggy back on the order, let me know.
It was great to meet mossy today. I had some exciting thing to say to her, but lsot it when they announced they'd caught the boston guy. Too much on the brain...
Well if I ever get an incubator now I know how to freak someone out! Just take an egg out of the fridge and pop it in the ol' bater! 
