Fertilized eggs, no rooster

[Paz]

My Blue copper Marans eggs seem to be fertilized. I haven’t had a rooster since October probably… she likes to wander around, sometimes I can’t even find her, and she comes back when the sun sets.
The yolk in her eggs is also more orange than my other hens. And the shells are softer.
Does she go visit someone else’s flock?

 

[Ecarroll]

My Blue copper Marans eggs seem to be fertilized. I haven’t had a rooster since October probably… she likes to wander around, sometimes I can’t even find her, and she comes back when the sun sets.
The yolk in her eggs is also more orange than my other hens. And the shells are softer.
Does she go visit someone else’s flock?

Why do you think they are fertilized?

 

[WoDia]

@Paz do they have the telltale bullseye? If any neighbors have free ranging flocks, yes the eggs could be fertile. Do your yolks have this?

https://extension.psu.edu/fertilized-vs-non-fertile-egg

 

[Ridgerunner]

The yolk in her eggs is also more orange than my other hens.

That means while she is foraging she is eating stuff with certain carotenes. That could be flower petals, dark green plants, or other things. It has nothing to do with nutrients, just that she is eating the right dyes.

And the shells are softer.

She may not be eating enough calcium or her body may not process the calcium she eats.

Does she go visit someone else’s flock?

Probably if the eggs are fertile. That is the simple straightforward explanation. But occasionally life isn't that simple. Seems like something can always complicate things. Parthenogenesis can cause the bull's eye. It's not real common but it is a possibility. The most likely answer is a rooster.

Parthenogenesis: Embryonic development in unfertilized eggs may impact normal fertilization and embryonic mortality | The Poultry Site

 

[Paz]

Why do you think they are fertilized?

They have this white circle inside. Also, if I keep them around the gas stove, they somehow develop veins.

 

[Paz]

@Paz do they have the telltale bullseye? If any neighbors have free ranging flocks, yes the eggs could be fertile. Do your yolks have this?

View attachment 4077661

https://extension.psu.edu/fertilized-vs-non-fertile-egg

Yes, she has that.
I think one of my close neighbors has only two roosters without hens, and another who lives pretty close has one aggressive rooster and six hens. But she’ll have to cross another person’s yard.

 

[Ecarroll]

Yes, she has that.
I think one of my close neighbors has only two roosters without hens, and another who lives pretty close has one aggressive rooster and six hens. But she’ll have to cross another person’s yard.

Chickens can range far, if there’s are free range then that would be your answer!