Fertilized egg?

[Michelle5633]

You cannot have eggs fertilized without a rooster. Unless you got the eggs from a place that had a rooster and hen mate to lay the eggs.

All look fertile.

Agree. The eggs look ferile, not fertilized.

 

[The Chickadee Homstead]

I have 6 chickens. I thought they were all hens. Been getting eggs that look fertilized to me? Is it possible to get fertilized egg with out rooster? Here is the eggs. They are 3 different eggs.Do I have an unidentified rooster?

Those look fertile

 

[The Chickadee Homstead]

Those look fertilized

I have 6 chickens. I thought they were all hens. Been getting eggs that look fertilized to me? Is it possible to get fertilized egg with out rooster? Here is the eggs. They are 3 different eggs.Do I have an unidentified rooster?

I don’t see any chicken in your pics that looks like a rooster. Try to watch the 14 week old one closely, although it doesn’t look like a cockerel and even if he is I doubt he would start mating this early.
Considering the fact that your chickens don’t have excess to a grown up rooster, and that you have raised them since they were days old, bulls eye or not I don’t think they are fertile.
But I still can’t explain what the bulls eye is.

 

[GardenDmpls]

This is an old article and the research it cites is even older, but it gives a brief overview of parthenogenesis rates in turkeys and chickens. Parthenogenesis is when an egg develops without fertilization and it appears that it will develop for a few days, sometimes inside the chicken before laying, but dies in early development. It appears to be an inherited thing, and certain breeds are more prone to it. Because the eggs don't develop to hatch, it is an undesireable trait for those who hatch chickens as it lowers the hatch rate (ratio of eggs incubated to eggs hatched).
https://www.thepoultrysite.com/arti...-normal-fertilization-and-embryonic-mortality

 

[GardenDmpls]

This article on parthenogenesis in birds is more recent (2018), but may strain your brain a bit. If you don't have experience in reading scientific articles, take it slowly and simplify the words as you go and you will get it. It can be very interesting:

https://rep.bioscientifica.com/view/journals/rep/155/6/REP-17-0728.xml

And finally a very easy to read and understand article by Gail Damerow from April last year

https://www.cacklehatchery.com/can-eggs-hatch-without-a-rooster/

 

[Doctor L]

I have 6 chickens. I thought they were all hens. Been getting eggs that look fertilized to me? Is it possible to get fertilized egg with out rooster? Here is the eggs. They are 3 different eggs.Do I have an unidentified rooster?

I have 6 chickens. I thought they were all hens. Been getting eggs that look fertilized to me? Is it possible to get fertilized egg with out rooster? Here is the eggs. They are 3 different eggs.Do I have an unidentified rooster?

Hi Stephanie,
With over 49 years of raising chickens, there’s not much I haven’t seen or done… And, in all those years I’ve learned, never say anything with absolute certainty, because that will be the time when the chickens prove you wrong… Some roosters will look like a hen (and vis-à-vis) way, way longer than you think possible… Anyway, an egg (zygote-or fertile cell) can start to develop, for several days, but will never develop into an embryo, but it can leave a bullseye or blood spot… This is where one would ask, “What are your egg collecting/handling routines..? If they spend any more than a few hours in the nest, and then some folks (myself included) keep the eggs in an egg basket, at room temp, on the kitchen counter for a few days, before rotating them into the fridg. This is enough time for that egg to begin to “develop”… This is really the only explanation I have, with the info I see, assuming there are none of those, “Make a lier out of me” statements I mentioned earlier.. Try checking for eggs twice per day, and putting them directly into the fridge, and I bet this issue will go away… I’ve seen your pics and the hen in front may look a little Sus to me… She could be one of those girls who one day, long after “normal” adolescence, surprises you with a really cock-eyed, stressed-out, “Cock’a-doodle-doooo”… And, SURPRISE..! she’s a roo..! Also, I can tell from the pic, she (and the BR) is not in lay yet… so, you will have an increase in egg production to look forward to… unless that hen surprises you, which I seriously doubt… Also, if she were a roo, who is developmentally delayed, “he” would not be mature enough to be serving any of the girls, yet…
Good Luck,
+Blessing
Rev. Dr. Lee

 

[Nicky S]

If you suspect one is a cockerel, a conclusive way to check the gender is a DNA test…I did my babies from egg shells, but you can use a drop of blood or feathers. I used IQ Genetics, mailed it off and received results via email. A test is $15.

 

[chickgran]

You cannot have eggs fertilized without a rooster. Unless you got the eggs from a place that had a rooster and hen mate to lay the eggs.

All look fertile.

LIke a man and a woman

 

[NorthwoodsChick]

Fascinating thread. Keep posting updates on your bulleye eggs and the bird in question. To be continued…

 

[esme13]

They are all pullets.