Checking Eggs to See If Fertilized

[jwankowski]

I added some hens to my coop and was given a Rhode Island Red Rooster by a friend. All are getting along fine, but I'm concerned with what to do if the rooster fertilizes any of the eggs. Don't really want to raise chicks yet. How can I keep the rooster from fertilizing the eggs, or can I? How can I check the eggs to see if they are fertilized? I am assuming the rooster does his thing after the eggs are laid but I'm new to raising chickens. Thanks in advance for your comments.

 

[Weeg]

I added some hens to my coop and was given a Rhode Island Red Rooster by a friend. All are getting along fine, but I'm concerned with what to do if the rooster fertilizes any of the eggs. Don't really want to raise chicks yet. How can I keep the rooster from fertilizing the eggs, or can I? How can I check the eggs to see if they are fertilized? I am assuming the rooster does his thing after the eggs are laid but I'm new to raising chickens. Thanks in advance for your comments.

The eggs won't hatch unless a broody decided to sit on them. It won't matter if the eggs are fertile because the eggs need incubation and heat to became chicks to hatch. If a hen does go broody, and decided to sit, there are ways to break her, so she does thatch chicks. To check if na egg si fertile, you have to break them open, and look for a white bulls-eye on the yolk.

 

[nuthatched]

Just don't let them incubate the egg's.
You can't have chicks if you take the egg's away. You can't keep the rooster from doing his job
A fertilized egg will have a Bulls eye white spot on the yolk.

 

[AllenK RGV]

I am sure there is an article on our learning center with great photos to check the blastoderm for the bullseye. It will not have any effect on the ability to eat those eggs. Additionally you would have to have them incubated for chicks to hatch. I'll edit in the article if someone doesn't beat me to it. The rooster does his thing when he mounts your hen, so before they ever get laid.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...hatching-chicken-eggs-aka-hatching-101.64195/ has a great photo on how to tell if you have a fertilized egg and tells you all the steps needed to hatch a chick.

This link is worth a bookmark here on BYC since you are just starting out:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/categories/learning-center.11/

 

[Acre4Me]

I am assuming the rooster does his thing after the eggs are laid

nope. The male touches his vent to the female vent. It’s all external, but his sperm get into her system and the yolks are fertilized before they are an egg. The fertilized yolk goes through the egg creation process and the body heat of the hen during those few hours allows a tiny bit of development to take place -giving the “bulls-eye” blastodisc seen in a fertilized egg that is cracked open.

fertilized eggs are fine to eat. Just collect the eggs daily. Once the egg is outside of the hen, it will not continue to develop unless she keeps it warm enough by sitting in it. So, collect every day!