Can you still eat fertilized eggs

[Keeperofmunchkins]

There is certainly no health problem with eating fertilised eggs BUT I think a lot of people do not realise that the embryo starts to develop inside the hen after fertilisation and that the fertilised egg once laid already contains a living organism. Embryonic development does not begin at day one of incubation.

See this quote from www.sites.ext.vt.edu/virtualfarm/poultry/poultry_development.html#

"The development of the chick begins in the single cell formed by the union of two parental cells, egg and sperm, in the process known as fertilization. In birds, fertilization occurs about 24 hours before the egg is laid.

The newly formed single cell begins to divide into 2, then 4, 8, 16, 32 and so on. At the time of laying, hundreds of cells are grouped in a small, whitish spot (the blastoderm or germinal disc) that is easily seen on the surface of the yolk.

When the egg is laid and cools, division of the cells ceases. After the egg is laid, cooling the egg after the egg is laid does not result in the death of the embryo. It may resume its development after several days of rest if it is again heated by the hen or in an incubator."

 

[cassie]

Yes.
I don;t have a rooster but my mother-in-law has 2 roosters in her flock of 20 or so chickens. Often she finds a fertilized egg. As long as you are collecting daily and storing them at room temp or in the fridge (well below incubation temps) the emryos shouldn't develop. You may get a blood spot (tiny red spot on the yolk) at times, but it cooks right in and nobody knows.

Just a comment. Blood spots have nothing to do with whether or not an egg is fertile. Without looking it up, I can't tell you exactly what causes them, but it happens during the development of the egg.

 

[Chickassan]

We don't care, or at least this one does not. It is an egg, if I dig deeper than that i've got issues...and no egg.

Perfectly fine!

Unless your a vegetarian!

 

[ChickensLove]

Can you still eat fertilized chickens eggs?

Aww, that's sad and gross.

 

[Wee Farmer Sarah]

Aww, that's sad and gross.

So I'm confused again. (it doesn't take much to confuse me). Do you think eating a fertilized egg is sad and gross? Do you eat tree nuts or sunflower seeds? That's pretty much the same as eating an egg. Even though trees and sunflowers are plants, they still are living breathing entities and when you eat their seeds you are eating their "eggs." So why is eating a fertilized chicken egg sad and gross?

 

[meetthebubus]

I've read the blood spot in egg is just a vein burst from the hen while creating the egg. Like maybe a big jump or a little fall off the roost, etc. It's said to be no big deal and really common in hens that have a lot of room to run and jump etc. That's why it's more rare to see blood in a store egg since they are so sequestered imo

 

[Keeperofmunchkins]

So I'm confused again. (it doesn't take much to confuse me). Do you think eating a fertilized egg is sad and gross? Do you eat tree nuts or sunflower seeds? That's pretty much the same as eating an egg. Even though trees and sunflowers are plants, they still are living breathing entities and when you eat their seeds you are eating their "eggs." So why is eating a fertilized chicken egg sad and gross?

I do not think that seeds are equal to animal embryos in the sense that sentience or the potential for it is more morally valuable. A sentient creature that feels pain or fear is obviously a worse thing to kill than a living plant that does not feel pain or fear. Even a very early form of the embryo which cannot feel pain nor fear contains the potential for later sentience so has to be treated differently than a seed that will never grow a brain, imo.

HOWEVER to me this means eating a fertilised egg could be called gross (in fact all eggs are pretty gross considering they are organic tissue excreted from our chickens' bodies... Like eating a giant booger... But hey ho) but not really 'sad'.

If the eggs were not eaten by humans or the chickens themselves, most of them would just sit there until they rotted. The primitive life form within would die anyway and no one would benefit. Not all chicken breeds go broody and even among those that do, hens often lay for a lot longer than the couple of weeks or so fertilised eggs stay fresh enough to hatch. That is to say, if every single egg laid was left untouched in the nest some of them would end up being brooded on and hatched but most would go to waste. Is it really 'sadder' to eat the fertilised egg than to let it fade away?

 

[Wee Farmer Sarah]

I do not think that seeds are equal to animal embryos in the sense that sentience or the potential for it is more morally valuable. A sentient creature that feels pain or fear is obviously a worse thing to kill than a living plant that does not feel pain or fear. Even a very early form of the embryo which cannot feel pain nor fear contains the potential for later sentience so has to be treated differently than a seed that will never grow a brain, imo.

HOWEVER to me this means eating a fertilised egg could be called gross (in fact all eggs are pretty gross considering they are organic tissue excreted from our chickens' bodies... Like eating a giant booger... But hey ho) but not really 'sad'.

If the eggs were not eaten by humans or the chickens themselves, most of them would just sit there until they rotted. The primitive life form within would die anyway and no one would benefit. Not all chicken breeds go broody and even among those that do, hens often lay for a lot longer than the couple of weeks or so fertilised eggs stay fresh enough to hatch. That is to say, if every single egg laid was left untouched in the nest some of them would end up being brooded on and hatched but most would go to waste. Is it really 'sadder' to eat the fertilised egg than to let it fade away?

Sentience can be argued. Fifty years ago if someone said a chicken, or even a dog for that matter was sentient, it would have been laughable. We have evolved to include lifeforms lower than humans to be sentient or perhaps almost there. However, IMHO and as an experienced gardener, plants evolve as well. Have you ever tried to mow down a field of dandelions? They all lay down until after you've put the mower away. As soon as they see you do that they stand straight and tall again. Explain that chemical reaction. LOL! What I said is that plant seeds can be likened to chicken eggs as they can turn into a plant that in turn produces edible vegetation. The egg becomes a chicken that could produce more edible protein.

 

[Wee Farmer Sarah]

So for you @ChickensLove, if the idea of eating fertilized chicken eggs grosses you out, don't eat them. Most non-chicken people can't tell what a fertilized egg looks like so countless people are consuming fertilized eggs all the time and can't tell the difference. If the eggs are fresh, they taste the same: yummy.