good question

[hatchcrazzzy]

when you calculate fertilliy.or eggs that hatch.i dont candle my eggs and wanted how to caculate hatch rate.do i count the non fertile ones?

 

[Dipsy Doodle Doo]

Hi!
Fertility and hatch rate are two different things.
If I was trying to calculate a hatch percentage, I'd not count the clear / infertile eggs.
If I was checking fertility in a breeding pen, I'd be counting the clear / infertile eggs.

Lisa

 

[kstaven]

Personally I count all eggs and base hatch rates off of that. I have noted far to many egg sellers do it like Dipsy and thus when quoting hatch rates the buyer gets a very false sense of how many eggs from their order will hatch.

24 eggs ordered, 12 fertile, and 8 hatch can be called a 75% hatch rate by some or a 33% hatch rate by others.

 

[jimnjay]

Many people quote fertility rates and hatch rates seperately. They really are two different things for someone who is hatching their own eggs. You usually don't know about fertility until you set the eggs. When selling eggs you should ask about Fertility Rates not hatch rate. There are two many variables in hatching. I personally don't quote any rates. I simply state that fertility is good in my pens. I don't have a large Rooster to hen ratio and usually if they are laying they are fertile. My hens hatch out almost everything I put under them. Even fertile eggs can be ruined by shipping and that is not a sellers fault or misrepesentation. Fertility rates in your own yard are vastly different than hatch rates when they are shipped and someone else incubates.

Hatch rate of fertile eggs is important to a breeder because there can be problems they need to address other than whether the rooster is doing his job. Health and storage of eggs issues can cause fertile eggs to start to develop but stop.

When buying eggs one should ask the seller specifically how the fertility is (how many eggs developed vs. how many set) and what the hatch rate is ( how many fertile eggs hatched). In my case and probably Lisa's, our broodies hatch almost anything we put under them. We put them in the incubator and the percentage drops, We ship them and it drops further.