Eggs not developing - please help me figure out what's wrong

[Justso]

Is this not a defined bullseye? View attachment 3079767

I think we are seeing a blastodisc maybe. My bullseye were more dramatic than this.

 

[VlkStinu]

I think we are seeing a blastodisc maybe. My bullseye were more dramatic than this.
View attachment 3079988

Interesting, I definitely see it as blastoderm... But that's from my inexperienced perspective - I've never seen any other egg's germinal spots so what do I know...

 

[VlkStinu]

These egg yolks are from today. I didn't manage to get up early, I was too tired yesterday and decided to do it tomorrow morning.

 

[DavidReaves]

These egg yolks are from today. I didn't manage to get up early, I was too tired yesterday and decided to do it tomorrow morning.

When I zoom in on these photos it looks like photo two "might" have a blastoderm. There is a very faint ring. I don't see anything on photo one that looks like it's fertile, just a bare blastodisc. Can you hold some new eggs at counter temperature for a day or two before checking to see if the differences become more apparent?

 

[VlkStinu]

When I zoom in on these photos it looks like photo two "might" have a blastoderm. There is a very faint ring. I don't see anything on photo one that looks like it's fertile, just a bare blastodisc. Can you hold some new eggs at counter temperature for a day or two before checking to see if the differences become more apparent?

Yes, there is definitely a ring and a couple of speckles inside the disc. This egg yolk here in this post https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...-figure-out-whats-wrong.1522495/post-25646924 is from the hen that laid the egg from today's photo 1. It looks pretty clearly like a bullseye to me. And then this one from today just looks different...

 

[VlkStinu]

I didn't manage to wake up again, but tomorrow, though still really tired today, I am setting the alarm to 4:20 already and will get up no matter what. I have to figure out what's going on and whether I need a new rooster or just give this one more time or whatnot.

 

[VlkStinu]

I talked to the previous owner of the rooster and he said he is fertile as they were taking samples of the rooster's sperm. So infertility is not an issue. He said however that it's pretty weird that I am not seeing any mating activity - that by this time, there should definitely be some. He offered me one of his roosters for free, he still has about 3-4 young ones from last year that are already mating apparently. I don't really like to do it (I like the rooster), but I guess that will be my best chance. I will still wake up early tomorrow to check just to be sure, but I've already put an ad on FB for this rooster and as soon as he finds a new home, I will get the young rooster. Either way, even if he is mating with the hens, that means they might be rejecting his sperm meaning I will still have to get a different rooster. I don't know if it would be worth giving him more time or not. I watched them this morning and they are getting along well, just when I pour new feed into the feeder, he is chasing the hens away...

 

[abenardini]

This is just a thought, but should you be wrapping in plastic wrap? Is it possible that the fertilized zygote is suffocating? I don't think the eggs should be wrapped-- especially in something that blocks oxygen like plastic wrap.

Kind of the same school of thought I had too, David - I've never heard of wrapping eggs before and never have done so with mine. I just store them in a cooler place in a carton until I've got enough for a clutch.

 

[VlkStinu]

Kind of the same school of thought I had too, David - I've never heard of wrapping eggs before and never have done so with mine. I just store them in a cooler place in a carton until I've got enough for a clutch.

If I will be incubating another batch of eggs, which I hope I will, I won't be wrapping the eggs. Thank you for pointing that out. It will save me a lot of time and work too, so I am more than happy to skip that step.

 

[VlkStinu]

Ok, so I finally managed to wake up. 4:15 was way too soon, it was too dark, so I went back to bed and got up at 5. Waited about 20 minutes for the automatic door to open up, which was a bit surprising to me, since it seemed like there is already enough light. But now the fun part - the rooster was crowing from inside the coop like mad. I think I actually heard him when I woke up in the dark at 4:15, but I thought it just must be my imagination. But hell, he was crowing and crowing until the door opened, the hens got out in an instant, and guess what - HE STAYED INSIDE THE COOP AND KEPT CROWING... for like 10 minutes... Then got out, stood on a single spot for like 30 minutes while the hens were strutting around him and he just kept crowing and crowing and crowing. So the bottom line is, that my rooster seems to be a special case and he is therefore the reason for the eggs not developing. He just doesn't mate with the hens. They are relaxed around him, they are really at a very close distance but he doesn't engage at all. So all I gotta do now is find him a new home. I already put up an ad on Facebook, but surprisingly people are not really as interested as I thought they will be, since he is a really beautiful specimen of a special Czech breed.