Egg questions and creeper gene question

[Chicken poppy]

If i get fertile eggs, should I refrigerate or leave them on the counter? I heard refrigeration could cause the eggs to take longer to hatch, but what if its super hot out or super cold? Whats better?

Do i need to turn them in the fridge (or on counter) to prevent the yolk from stinking to the membrane? And they would be fat side down i assume?

If a rooster mates a hen, and the hen lays an egg a day later, the fertility would last, but what about two or three days later? And how many eggs does it keep? If one egg is fertile and the next day she lays another, will both be fertile?

Thanks!

I asked this before but lost the thread that i did, and i forgot the answers.

Creeper gene question that i must know!!

I understand that you can get long legged and short legged. I currently have 4 but did have 5.
Using the 5 as a example here even though one is gone. I got 4 eggs and all of them hatched, all leg height was the same. The one i had that was older (around 4 months when they hatched) the legs were shorter, where you couldn’t see under, and really just saw the feet.
Wondering if the first 4 are long legged? I plan on breeding them so if i breed a long to a long/long to a short is it still possible to get short legged? Or is that out of the question?

The other one’s legs are half the size. These are all long.

And i heard they often die because of the gene. I was told by the person i got these from that the hatch rate was extremely good. Will this good hatching carry on for their babies, or was that just luck?

Sorry for all the questions but even if you only know the answer to one question thats totally fine! I still really appreciate it. If i can only get long legged from breeding a long rooster to long hen, or long rooster to short hen, i would be very disappointed because the rooster i have, all his black feathers are a gorgeous beetle green, and he is so sweet, so i would love to get eggs from him to atleast sell.

 

[Egg Snatcher]

If i get fertile eggs, should I refrigerate or leave them on the counter? I heard refrigeration could cause the eggs to take longer to hatch, but what if its super hot out or super cold? Whats better?

Do i need to turn them in the fridge (or on counter) to prevent the yolk from stinking to the membrane? And they would be fat side down i assume?

If a rooster mates a hen, and the hen lays an egg a day later, the fertility would last, but what about two or three days later? And how many eggs does it keep? If one egg is fertile and the next day she lays another, will both be fertile?

Thanks!

I asked this before but lost the thread that i did, and i forgot the answers.

Creeper gene question that i must know!!

I understand that you can get long legged and short legged. I currently have 4 but did have 5.
Using the 5 as a example here even though one is gone. I got 4 eggs and all of them hatched, all leg height was the same. The one i had that was older (around 4 months when they hatched) the legs were shorter, where you couldn’t see under, and really just saw the feet.
Wondering if the first 4 are long legged? I plan on breeding them so if i breed a long to a long/long to a short is it still possible to get short legged? Or is that out of the question? View attachment 3293599The other one’s legs are half the size. These are all long.

And i heard they often die because of the gene. I was told by the person i got these from that the hatch rate was extremely good. Will this good hatching carry on for their babies, or was that just luck?

Sorry for all the questions but even if you only know the answer to one question thats totally fine! I still really appreciate it. If i can only get long legged from breeding a long rooster to long hen, or long rooster to short hen, i would be very disappointed because the rooster i have, all his black feathers are a gorgeous beetle green, and he is so sweet, so i would love to get eggs from him to atleast sell.

If you want to hatch them set them out on your counter pointy end down. I write the date one my eggs so I know when they were collected.

Fertility will last 7 days some times more once the eggs is layed. The egg she lays the next day will be fertile, it can take up to one month for one roosters sperm to leave the hens system.

I don’t know much about creeper gene

https://poultrykeeper.com/chicken-breeds/japanese-bantams/
Says
“Japanese Bantams carry the dominant creeper gene Cp which gives the breed short legs. If two short legged birds are bred together, according to Mendals law, 25% of the offspring will be pure for Cp, a lethal gene combination which causes a disability making them unable to hatch. 50% of the offspring will carry one Cp gene and are therefore short legged as per the breed standard and the final 25% will not carry the gene and be long legged. Breeding a short legged with a long legged will produce 50% short legged, 50% long legged without any lethal embryos.”

 

[MysteryChicken]

Refrigerated eggs I just leave sitting in the same position fat side up. I do nothing fancy.
All of the refrigerated eggs I've hatched, hatch out at the normal 21 days.


But I see egg storage as a personal choice, whether you want to refrigerate, or leave at room temperature.

 

[Chicken poppy]

Refrigerated eggs I just leave sitting in the same position fat side up. I do nothing fancy.
All of the refrigerated eggs I've hatched, hatch out at the normal 21 days.


But I see egg storage as a personal choice, whether you want to refrigerate, or leave at room temperature.

Thank you! No turning required?

 

[Chicken poppy]

If you want to hatch them set them out on your counter pointy end down. I write the date one my eggs so I know when they were collected.

Fertility will last 7 days some times more once the eggs is layed. The egg she lays the next day will be fertile, it can take up to one month for one roosters sperm to leave the hens system.

I don’t know much about creeper gene

https://poultrykeeper.com/chicken-breeds/japanese-bantams/
Says
“Japanese Bantams carry the dominant creeper gene Cp which gives the breed short legs. If two short legged birds are bred together, according to Mendals law, 25% of the offspring will be pure for Cp, a lethal gene combination which causes a disability making them unable to hatch. 50% of the offspring will carry one Cp gene and are therefore short legged as per the breed standard and the final 25% will not carry the gene and be long legged. Breeding a short legged with a long legged will produce 50% short legged, 50% long legged without any lethal embryos.”

Thanks so much! I didn’t know that.

Im so happy about that! I would like to hopefully sell fertile japanese eggs and they would be pure and show quality, but if they would only come out long legged i probably wouldn’t. Glad there could atleast be a chance for short legged!

 

[MysteryChicken]

Thank you! No turning required?

I don't turn mine. They don't stick that quickly.

 

[Ridgerunner]

If i get fertile eggs, should I refrigerate or leave them on the counter? I heard refrigeration could cause the eggs to take longer to hatch, but what if its super hot out or super cold? Whats better?

What is super hot? What is super cold?

The ideal temperature to store eggs is around 55 F (13 C). You want to store them in high humidity if you can. How high? As high as you can without condensate forming on the eggs. You want the temperature to be pretty steady, peaks and valleys are not good. You don't really have to turn them the first few days but studies have shown that hatchability improves if you turn them a few times each day after the first few. That does not mean none will hatch of you don't turn them but that it is more likely more will hatch if you do.

It's not a case where if you don't do everything perfect you have no hope. There is actually quite a bit of leeway in all these things. There are limits, you don't want the eggs to freeze of cook, but it's more that the closer you are to ideal conditions the longer the hatchability stays high. If you store them in ideal conditions they can easily stay viable for over two weeks.

Not all refrigerators are the same. Some are set at different temperatures and the temperature can vary at different locations in some of them. Humidity is usually really low. I don't know what your other options are, that might be your best one.

I store mine in room temperature, 72 to 78 F (22 to 26 C). Background humidity can be pretty low, especially when the heat is running. The temperature stays pretty constant and I do turn them. Far from ideal conditions but I get good hatches storing them for a week.

Do i need to turn them in the fridge (or on counter) to prevent the yolk from stinking to the membrane? And they would be fat side down i assume?

Turning actually does more than just keep the yolk from sticking to the membrane so I would. It does help. The typical recommendation is for us to store the eggs either fat side up (keep the air cell at the top, not the bottom so it does not get displaced) or lay them flat. I saw a study where it said that if you store them pointy side up under certain conditions and for a long time (two weeks or more) hatchability is slightly better but we don't usually meet those conditions. I keep mine pointy side down.

If a rooster mates a hen, and the hen lays an egg a day later, the fertility would last, but what about two or three days later? And how many eggs does it keep? If one egg is fertile and the next day she lays another, will both be fertile?

It takes about 25 hours for an egg to make its way through the hen's internal egg making factory. That egg can only be fertilized during the first few minutes of that journey. That means if a mating takes place on a Monday then Monday's egg will not be fertile. Tuesday's egg might or might not be, depending in timing. I don't count on it. Wednesday's egg will be fertile.

A rooster does not successfully mate with each hen in his flock every day but he doesn't have to. In the last part of the mating act the rooster hops off, his part is done. The hen stands up, fluffs up, and shakes. This fluffy shake gets the sperm in a special container near where the egg starts its internal journey. That sperm can stay viable for something like 9 days to over three weeks. You never know for sure when she will start laying non-fertile eggs but most of us count on two weeks. If the rooster as constant access to her, the eggs should stay fertile.

Creeper gene question that i must know!!

No idea.

 

[Chicken poppy]

What is super hot? What is super cold?

The ideal temperature to store eggs is around 55 F (13 C). You want to store them in high humidity if you can. How high? As high as you can without condensate forming on the eggs. You want the temperature to be pretty steady, peaks and valleys are not good. You don't really have to turn them the first few days but studies have shown that hatchability improves if you turn them a few times each day after the first few. That does not mean none will hatch of you don't turn them but that it is more likely more will hatch if you do.

It's not a case where if you don't do everything perfect you have no hope. There is actually quite a bit of leeway in all these things. There are limits, you don't want the eggs to freeze of cook, but it's more that the closer you are to ideal conditions the longer the hatchability stays high. If you store them in ideal conditions they can easily stay viable for over two weeks.

Not all refrigerators are the same. Some are set at different temperatures and the temperature can vary at different locations in some of them. Humidity is usually really low. I don't know what your other options are, that might be your best one.

I store mine in room temperature, 72 to 78 F (22 to 26 C). Background humidity can be pretty low, especially when the heat is running. The temperature stays pretty constant and I do turn them. Far from ideal conditions but I get good hatches storing them for a week.


Turning actually does more than just keep the yolk from sticking to the membrane so I would. It does help. The typical recommendation is for us to store the eggs either fat side up (keep the air cell at the top, not the bottom so it does not get displaced) or lay them flat. I saw a study where it said that if you store them pointy side up under certain conditions and for a long time (two weeks or more) hatchability is slightly better but we don't usually meet those conditions. I keep mine pointy side down.


It takes about 25 hours for an egg to make its way through the hen's internal egg making factory. That egg can only be fertilized during the first few minutes of that journey. That means if a mating takes place on a Monday then Monday's egg will not be fertile. Tuesday's egg might or might not be, depending in timing. I don't count on it. Wednesday's egg will be fertile.

A rooster does not successfully mate with each hen in his flock every day but he doesn't have to. In the last part of the mating act the rooster hops off, his part is done. The hen stands up, fluffs up, and shakes. This fluffy shake gets the sperm in a special container near where the egg starts its internal journey. That sperm can stay viable for something like 9 days to over three weeks. You never know for sure when she will start laying non-fertile eggs but most of us count on two weeks. If the rooster as constant access to her, the eggs should stay fertile.


No idea.

Wow. Thank you. This helped a lot. Super hot and super cold, your right, its not very specific. I just meant if its around 30 F or 90 F. Just extreme weather temperatures.

Turning them if its upright would just mean rotating the egg, correct?

 

[Ridgerunner]

Turning them if its upright would just mean rotating the egg, correct?

Think of leaning the egg 45 degrees from vertical to start from, then leaning the egg through 90 degrees so it is 45 degrees the other way. Maybe this will help. Put a mark on one side of the egg up close to the top of the round portion. Start with that mark up high. Finish with the mark down low. So you are rocking it back and forth.

Or spin the egg 180 degrees about its long axis as it is tilted 45 degrees. The mark goes from up high to down low.

The automatic turners when the egg is pointy side down rock the egg back and forth. The automatic turners when the egg is laying down roll it.

 

[Chicken poppy]

Think of leaning the egg 45 degrees from vertical to start from, then leaning the egg through 90 degrees so it is 45 degrees the other way. Maybe this will help. Put a mark on one side of the egg up close to the top of the round portion. Start with that mark up high. Finish with the mark down low. So you are rocking it back and forth.

Or spin the egg 180 degrees about its long axis as it is tilted 45 degrees. The mark goes from up high to down low.

The automatic turners when the egg is pointy side down rock the egg back and forth. The automatic turners when the egg is laying down roll it.

Thanks! That helps a lot.