Can you eat fertile eggs?

[BCMaraniac]

I find the crowing and mating almost always go hand in hand. As soon as the rooster crows, he starts mating.. Not always, but 90% of the times I have experienced it.

The pullets are not ready for a man until they are ready to lay eggs, so at first they are usually set against being mated.. so there is a lot of forcing in the beginning. Poor girls.

Unless you do like I did and get a rooster a couple of months younger than your youngest pullet. That way they are laying before he is ready.

I raised him with a pullet from the same hatch, and then introduced the two of them to the rest of the flock about the time he began crowing. He didn't bother his sister who was not yet laying, probably because he had willing older women to entertain him....LOL.

 

[steelchair]

I was born in 1980, so yeah that went over my head . What you said made me think of the movie Twins. They have an Arnold and Danny thing going on. The little guy acts like he is twice as big as the big one. He has a lot of attitude for a little bird.

WWhat

 

[cluckcluck3499]

I do that to let my Roos know that no matter what, IM the biggest roo here!!!

That's so funny when I first started collecting chickens I didn't want a rooster 'cos of their big wattles,  but now I love my roosters and I pet their wattles lol.

 

[Alexandra317]

Good questions Mommy of two! All stuff I wanted to kniw too! Im hoping to get a nice Wellsummer roo... naming him Kellog. HAHA

 

[mommy of two]

Thanks! I can't believe this post made it to the home page. I am pretty new on here so that was exciting to me!

 

[themadchicken]

I have Silkies and Bantams that are always going broody. Sometimes they will set on an egg that's fertile for 8-9 hours until i get home and collect eggs in the evening. I have never had any that has started to show sings of growth. During the summer some hens will make a hidden nest under a bush or in some tall grass and i don't find the eggs for a couple days. We still eat them and have never got sick or seen any signs of incubation.

If you are afraid of a large rooster try a Bantam. They still protect the flock and keep the hens in line. What i mean buy this is breaking up fights, showing them were the good food is, and my favorite is telling them its time for bed at night.

There are some really cool colors in Bantams that are not available in large size roosters.

 

[mommy of two]

Really, a couple of day without being in the fridge, I didn't know that! I guess if you cook them thoroughly the bacteria wouldn't be there.
The bantams do have pretty colors but we already have a BR rooster that was supposed to be a hen but turned out to be a roo! Our roo actually gets challenged by our RIR quite often! It's pretty funny!

 

[themadchicken]

Really, a couple of day without being in the fridge, I didn't know that! I guess if you cook them thoroughly the bacteria wouldn't be there.
The bantams do have pretty colors but we already have a BR rooster that was supposed to be a hen but turned out to be a roo! Our roo actually gets challenged by our RIR quite often! It's pretty funny!

Just remember a hundred years ago people did not have fridges. Eggs were put in a bowl and placed on the counter. If you wash your eggs then yes they need to go in the fridge. If you don't wash them then they can set out for a week as long as they stay out of direct sun.

 

[mommy of two]

Yeah your right. Sometimes it's hard to think outside the modern world!

 

[Jotaylor]

Yes, you can eat a fertilized egg. Gathering eggs often during the day, washing them, and getting them in the fridge are the best thing to do with your eggs, especially if you have a rooster around. All of the eggs you get won't be fertilized anyway. If they are, the most that you will probably see is a fertilization spot.

What is the difference in the 2 eggs above? We have 5 hens and they all have that spot on them. We have been thinking they are fertilized but we don't have a Roo, so it has been a mystery.