I have a few questions about eggs that I might just be over thinking. I know that a flock of hens only still produce eggs that are infertile, but I have a small flock of hens and a rooster that are just a few weeks old. These are my first so I don't really know how the egg production differs by adding the rooster. I know that having a rooster add the possibility of eggs being fertile.Can every egg that the hens lay (several months from now) fertile or not ( also not sure how to tell ) be eaten. Also, if I decide later to try and hatch some eggs how can I determine from picking them up from nest boxes which ones to keep to eat and which ones to try and hatch? Thanks!
If you have a rooster then some eggs will be fertilized and some will not. You can tell a fertilized egg by the dot with circle on the yoke when you crack it open. When you decide to incubate and hatch eggs, you will incubate several collected eggs and only the ones that were fertilized by a roo can develop into a chick. I believe egg production will be pretty much the same with or without a rooster. Yes... fertile and non fertile eggs can be eaten! Some people claim that a fertilized egg tastes a little better but my taste buds can't tell.
