Fertile?

[Weeg]

If you don't have a rooster and your hens haven't been exposed to a rooster then of course your eggs aren't fertile.

It is possible that another feral rooster could be wandering around, that could have secretly fertilized the eggs. Or I've heard that if there are animals very similar to chickens, then it is possible that they could successfully mate a chicken. I am no expert and only know wha tI know form this site honestly, but it would be a mystery if they were fertil.

 

[Chickenhappy8708]

Good point actually @Weeg. Are there any turkeys around?

 

[TheOddOneOut]

Good point actually @Weeg. Are there any turkeys around?

We see some occasionally.
And yes, I know it was a stupid question and it wouldn’t make sense if it was, but I had the wrong info and was confused.
So thank you.

 

[Chickenhappy8708]

I personally would love to see some Chucrkys!!

 

[TheOddOneOut]

Infetile eggs do have a whit dot, just not the bullseye. I cant really tell, if they are fertile or not, but maybe take a pic like @CindyinSD suggested, and we can tell. Her is a comparison pic of a fertilities vs. infertile egg!
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Thanks for the pictorials!

 

[TheOddOneOut]

I personally would love to see some Chucrkys!!

Me too.

 

[CindyinSD]

I don’t actually have a roo, nor do I want to hatch chicks, but I was wondering. It’s very unlikely now that I think about it, but what I meant to ask was: do infertile eggs have the white dot?

Infertile eggs have a fuzzy white "dot". Fertile eggs have a (usually) more defined white dot surrounded by a fairly defined white ring. The white ring shows the growth of the embryo as it moved through the oviduct to be laid. Once it's laid, it will cool, putting it in a state of "suspended animation" until such time as the hen amasses a sufficient collection of eggs to trigger her to (if she's so inclined) "go broody" and begin sitting (incubation).

The warmth of her body or of the incubator "wakes" the fertile & viable embryos and they start to grow & develop.

Since you have no rooster, the only way these eggs could be fertile would be your hens having been exposed to a rooster around two weeks ago (more or less) before they came to you. The hen can store the rooster's semen in her body for approximately that long or, (Something I have read but not confirmed) she can reject the semen altogether or in favor of a rooster she prefers. Hens have super powers.