Fertilizing Eggs

[NatJ]

Only one week after we added a Muscovy Drake to our tiny Scovy duck flock in mid December, we collected some eggs for incubation to check for fertility which we were able to confirm!

We did not have a Drake prior thus are absolutely certain that these are his progeny!

After he mates with a female, her eggs should be fertile within a day or two.

But not every male will mate with every female right away, which is why many people plan on a week or more before collecting eggs to set. Obviously yours got busy pretty fast!

 

[Ted Brown]

Irony runs amok.

My Chantecler hens are very slow to give eggs. One since yesterday when they were put with Wilfred.

 

[aart]

Irony runs amok.

My Chantecler hens are very slow to give eggs. One since yesterday when they were put with Wilfred.

They may be on 'egg pause' with the change in housing, and that strange male...
....you know chickens don't like change.

 

[Ted Brown]

They may be on 'egg pause' with the change in housing, and that strange male...
....you know chickens don't like change.

Now that I am focused I don't recall lots of eggs from them. Will the presence of a male stimulate production?

 

[aart]

Will the presence of a male stimulate production?

Not really, the stress of him being there and the new housing could repress egg production.
You'll have to be patient.

 

[Ted Brown]

... You'll have to be patient.

So anti-climatic. Wilfred is being a perfect gentleman, leaving well enough alone.

I stabilized the roost bars although they still move side to side from looseness of the cage wire sides. No sign of interest but I did not sit and watch for long.

 

[Ted Brown]

I got 2 Chantecler eggs later afternoon today, total 3 but the first should not be fertile.

Note the pointy ends that are characteristic of my Chanteclers thus far.

 

[3KillerBs]

I have most often seen three weeks to clear the system?

That's what I have seen most often, too.
But I have seen occasional reports of it being longer.

I have 4 black hens to prove that 3 weeks isn't always enough: https://www.backyardchickens.com/posts/24428758

Good luck with your beautiful birds!

 

[JohnTheChickenMan]

I have looked for the bullseye, and I just can't see the difference between fertile and infertile eggs. I have read descriptions and looked at photos. I have looked at eggs when the flock is all hens, with no rooster present for months. And I have looked at eggs when there is an active rooster and every egg that goes in the incubator is fertile. And I cannot reliably see a difference.

But I have no trouble seeing the embryo when I candle at 4+ days of incubation, so that works better for me. (After only 4-5 days, the clear eggs are probably safe to eat. Since I have only incubated eggs when I had a surplus, I have cooked the clears for the dogs and chickens to eat, rather than eating them myself. But I'm keeping it in mind in case I ever have an egg shortage at incubation time.)

For people who can see the difference, checking the eggs you would eat anyway is a great way to check fertility-- it just doesn't work for me.

I cracked 10 fresh fertile eggs today and i never seen the bullseye. However with eggs i set after just a few days in the incubator i can candle and see growth. I wonder if this bullseye thing is more prominent in certain breeds or possibly in eggs stored at high temp for a few days? Eg. Eggs laid in the middle of the summer and not picked up for a day or two

 

[JohnTheChickenMan]

I got 2 Chantecler eggs later afternoon today, total 3 but the first should not be fertile.

Note the pointy ends that are characteristic of my Chanteclers thus far.

View attachment 3052382

I would recommend writing on the top (air cell end) with ur pencil. Where ur marks are now are likely to be hard to read when the chick zips the shell. Plus it makes it easier to see when u load them in the incubator