Fertile eggs??

[briteday]

Quote:
Sounds like the eggs were warmed up somewhere enough to incubate.

And if you look at "normal" chicken eggs from the grocery they are often fertile. So those of you who think you've never eaten a fertile egg may be mistaken.

 

[speckledhen]

Most grocery store eggs are absolutely not fertile. There would be no need to keep a rooster with caged hens and I doubt they could mate if they did in those close quarters. Waste of feed to feed a rooster in a commercial operation unless your goal is to purposefully offer fertile eggs and say it on the carton.

Bought many dozens of eggs from Walmart and never saw a fertile one. Wouldn't make sense, really.

 

[La Mike]

IMO eggs are eggs until incubated and they become whatever laid it
I personally prefer roostered eggs
(fertile)

 

[briteday]

Quote:
I've actually been polling co-workers who buy store eggs (I can't supply everyone at work unfortunately) and bought a few dozen myself to observe this phenomena. When my co-workers and I found plenty of fertile eggs (and it seems more often during the Spring and Winter) we started asking some chicken friends about this. My uncle asked around at coffee in Alabama. There is a guy in his breakfast group who owns a fairly large egg-producing chicken farm. He said that if he can't meet his egg quota to the distributor from his regular egglayer house, then he goes over to his hatching house and pulls some eggs layed that day to complete his order...thus, fertile eggs at the grocery. And like the rest of us (egg farmer to a lesser extent with light/temp controlled facility) his egg production dips in the Winter and he needs maximum reproduction of chicks in the Spring...so that's when he ends up pulling from the reproduction barn the most.

Anecdotal for me, but I have no other way to explain fertilized store bought eggs.

And for those buying eggs marked as fertile...over the years several of the kids at the school where I work have tried to hatch those eggs, even going as far as learning to read the codes so they get eggs layed within 3 days of purchase. Excellent luck with Trader Joe eggs. And absolutely, not one egg ever hatched from dozens of Whole Food eggs.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Just supposition, but I'd imagine the Whole Foods eggs are washed and refrigerated. Both practices can reduce a hatch. They are selling them as fertile eating eggs, not hatching eggs. The best handling to keep them safe and usable is different. With Pandora's post, you can see why they would keep them well refrigerated.

 

[speckledhen]

There are certainly cage free operations that may possibly have a "stealth rooster" in the bunch. Those actually selling eggs as fertile would have roosters, too. The regular white and brown generic eggs sold IMO will not be fertile. It's all about $$$ and it costs too much feed for an unnecessary rooster.

 

[CHICKENBOY 1]

you think you have a problem I have 4 roosters 3 hens but they seem to be ok nor can I part with them.

o and

 

[seminolewind]

I know of people that have successfully incubated store bought eggs. But these eggs were organic or free range. They have usually ended up with one of those production breeds.