fertile or not fertile

[MommaBugg]

ok some questions I need to know. I posted this elsewhere in the fertile egg thread but not getting an answer and time is precious!

A couple of my bantys have just started to lay. We got our first egg on the 17th(two days ago) and again today. No idea who is laying them as we are finding them in the run and not the coop.

The first egg was washed and put in the fridge. Today I decided to see if any of the hens would sit on it. One of my silver duckwings is sitting on it sometimes, but at least not pecking at it like my mille fleur.

I decided to candle the egg to check how porous it was, and I noticed it looked VERY fluid. The egg looked like it was filled with water rather than egg white. There is a wad of what looks like tiny air bubbles that are floating around right under the shell, and it moves with the egg when I tilt it.

Now my hens are 18 weeks old, as are the roosters, and they have been 'doing the dance' for over 2 weeks or more,. Does this egg sound like it could be fertile? I would hate to just break it to see, as I have no idea who is laying them. If I were to check for fertility of the eggs by cracking open the first egg, would it show the tell tale bullseye of fertility even though it has been in the fridge for 2 days?
Also do you have to have them under a hen or in a bator? can they be incubated under a light?

Also, as a kid, we had laying hens, and my dad would throw out any eggs that he cracked if they had blood spots in it. Do blood spots in eggs harm you in any way?

Thanks to any who can help

Here is the best pic I could get, sorry the quality is terrible, I circled what looks to me like the bulls eye.

 

[zebserema]

blood spots mean that the egg was kept warm for a day or two the cooled off and died it can mean many other things though it probably wouldnt be good to eat it do the roosters kinda dance around the hens like put one wing down and run in a ciricle that egg looked fertile but I cant say for sure

 

[Cadjien_De_Louisiane]

Thats a fertilized egg

 

[Cadjien_De_Louisiane]

I doubt the blood spots could hurt you, my mawmaw use to throw those away though. but I pick my eggs every day and eat fertile eggs everyday. I dont have blood spots because they go in the ice box same day or sit on my counter for no more than one day. its to cold in my house for the egg to even start to develope lol. But yea that spot is the germinal disc.

 

[cmom]

From your picture, the egg looks fertile. Eggs with a visible blood spot on the yolk or in the whites are safe for consumption. The spot can be removed with the tip of a knife. Blood or "meat" spots are occasionally found in eggs. These tiny spots are not harmful and are caused by the rupture of a blood vessel during formation of the egg. Blood spots do not indicate a fertilized egg. These eggs are safe to eat. I eat them with no problem.

 

[Ridgerunner]

People are talking about two different things here. Cmom is correct about a blood spot.

Blood rings indicate a fertile egg was incubated but the embryo died early on. Quite a different thing than a blood spot. If the egg is not incubated, a blood ring cannot form. But a blood spot has absolutely nothing to do with the egg being fertile or the egg being refrigerated.

 

[Gypsy07]

Quote:
Yup, 100% correct. Hens will occasionally lay eggs with blood spots in them whether you keep a rooster or not. So they're nothing to do with whether the egg is fertile and they're definitely not a tiny dead chickie embryo. Blood spots aren't harmful to eat and they don't affect the taste of the egg at all. I don't even think twice about eating them.

Now, about hatching your eggs... That egg definitely looks fertile, but unless one of your birds is properly broody, you'd be best to collect some eggs and put them in an incubator, rather than trying to encourage a bird to do the work. Sitting on eggs for 3 weeks requires total dedication, not just occasional sitting-on. Yes, you can 'incubate' eggs under a warm light; loads of the cheap homemade bators are basically just boxes with lightbulbs in them. However, if you want to just put eggs under a light you probably won't have a great success rate. You'll have to think about how you'll get the eggs to the correct temperature and keep them there, and also how to regulate the humidity too.

 

[ReikiStar]

Quote:
X's 2

 

[MommaBugg]

TY everyone!

 

[judial8907]

Looks fertile to me : )