Fertile or not

[tashtash]

Ok I'm new to the incubator thing. Mine is coming soon. So I have googled how to tell bout the egg and the answer is candling the egg. I get that when its like 7 days fertile. But what do I look for when I take them fresh layed in my coop. Will I see a dark spot straight away or do I need to wait a bit longer to see. I'm excited and can't wait to start but don't want to put eggs in if there not fertile. Will they be ok out the fridge for a few days until I see a dark bit in them or do I just put them in my incubator any way and check them after a few days then if not fertile dispose of them.

 

[sumi]

Unfortunately the only way to tell if a fresh laid egg is fertile is by opening it and looking for the "bullseye" on the yolk. There's great pics here showing the difference:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/16008/how-to-tell-a-fertile-vs-infertile-egg-pictures

If you want to make sure pick a few random eggs and check before you set any. By day 7 you should start seeing veins when you candle. If you don't see anything, candle again on day 10. If there's no development by then toss it. You can store eggs for hatching. Store them at room temperature and turn them at least once a day. Try not to store them for longer than 10 days. After that their chances of hatching drops significantly.