Can you eat unfertilized, incubated eggs? What size incubator should I get?

[Milo08]

Hi! I’m thinking of hatching my own chicks, and most of my questions have already been answered elsewhere, but I still have a few more.
1. Can you eat unfertilized eggs if you’ve incubated them for a week? (Both safety and taste wise)
2. I know that eggs can sit out for about a week, and if they’re fertilized they can still be incubated, but where should I keep them in the meantime?
3. If I have 13 hens, how many eggs should my incubator hold?
4. Are there any good incubators available on Amazon?
5. If I do use Amazon, what are some red flags I should look out for?
6. Once the chicks are here, should I mark them in some way once I’ve sexed them, or should I just put them in separate brooders?

Thanks so much!

 

[GodLovesU]

1 I don’t think they would taste very good
2 keep them pointy side down in an egg carton at room temperature in a safe place
3 that depends on how many eggs you want to hatch
4 Amazon does have incubators, but I have no experience with them
5 I would just check reviews
6 leg bands are an option for telling them apart just be careful not to get them too tight and change them as the chicks grow
Hope this helps!!

 

[Milo08]

1 I don’t think they would taste very good
2 keep them pointy side down in an egg carton at room temperature in a safe place
3 that depends on how many eggs you want to hatch
4 Amazon does have incubators, but I have no experience with them
5 I would just check reviews
6 leg bands are an option for telling them apart just be careful not to get them too tight and change them as the chicks grow
Hope this helps!!

I was thinking about trying to incubate about a third of the eggs, so around 4 per day? Is there like an equation for figuring out what size incubator you need?

 

[Altairsky]

I ate 2 infertile eggs that I incubated for 5 days. I used them for baking so there wasn't much to taste. The other 2 I hard boiled them and gave them to my chickens. They're not bad, but they aren't worth eating.
Buy incubators that hold at least 20 eggs or more. Smaller incubators are mostly trash that can't hold heat or humidity. Personally, I wouldn't trust incubators that costs less than 100$.

 

[GodLovesU]

If you’re saying you’re going to add a few more eggs to the incubator I wouldn’t recommend that

 

[Finnie]

6. Once the chicks are here, should I mark them in some way once I’ve sexed them, or should I just put them in separate brooders?

How are you planning to sex them? I would not recommend trying to vent sex them unless you have had professional training.

You can get 4” zip ties in many colors and use those as leg bands.

 

[Milo08]

How are you planning to sex them? I would not recommend trying to vent sex them unless you have had professional training.

You can get 4” zip ties in many colors and use those as leg bands.

I took a class on vent sexing, and I’m not able to squeeze my hands very well for medical reasons, so they should be safe. And thanks for the recommendation!

 

[Milo08]

If you’re saying you’re going to add a few more eggs to the incubator I wouldn’t recommend that

No? I don’t have an incubator or eggs yet, I’m just getting prepared.

 

[Bananaplinko]

No? I don’t have an incubator or eggs yet, I’m just getting prepared.

I think they mean that you shouldn’t add eggs in on separate days. It’s best if you put all you eggs in the incubator on one day. Then all the eggs are able to lock down together.

 

[Milo08]

I think they mean that you shouldn’t add eggs in on separate days. It’s best if you put all you eggs in the incubator on one day. Then all the eggs are able to lock down together.

Oh ok! Thanks for clarifying. Should I put aside a batch of 20, then put them all in at once, then check them to make sure they’re growing? And if they’re not fertilized, should I switch them out?