Grocery store eggs series 2021

[My2butterflies]

Most don’t keep roosters with their hens for grocery store eggs. I have seen other posts where some stores sold fertile eggs like Trader Joe’s (they said ‘fertile’ on the egg carton) in the grocery for consumption, and there was some success hatching a few chicks out of a carton of those refrigerated eggs! The Trader Joe’s local to me here in Ohio does not carry them tho, nor does the Whole Foods store ( I checked LOL )

Oh ok, that makes sense.

I just can’t picture a farm keeping many roosters that would eat their profits if selling eating eggs was the goal. It does make me wonder why they would seek fertile eggs for eating though Are there people out there that think they taste different?

 

[janiedoe]

Oh ok, that makes sense.

I just can’t picture a farm keeping many roosters that would eat their profits if selling eating eggs was the goal. It does make me wonder why they would seek fertile eggs for eating though Are there people out there that think they taste different?

That's a good question. Yes. From what I've read there are people who are sure fertile eggs are better, people who refuse to eat them, and those of us who eat them any old way they come.
I don't see any reason why a farm that is making their profits from egg sales would keep roosters. I love them but hens without roosters lay better in my humble opinion. Maybe just call Happy Farms and ask? I've never seen those eggs but I mostly shop Walmart for groceries.

 

[CluckerFamily]

Good luck!!

 

[Xouie]

From what I’ve gathered, “fertile” on egg cartons is a selling point rather than mandatory. Like “organic”. Larger producers are not going to feed and house roosters, but Happy Eggs states that their suppliers are “independent farmers” and “small, private farms” (website). It’s a gamble, but based on anecdotes here on BYC, not impossible. We’ll see in 7 days!

 

[HuffleClaw]

Following!

 

[UThobbyfarmer]

Following! This will be a fun experiment for your family. Looking forward to seeing what happens.

 

[pidgejr]

From what I’ve gathered, “fertile” on egg cartons is a selling point rather than mandatory. Like “organic”. Larger producers are not going to feed and house roosters, but Happy Eggs states that their suppliers are “independent farmers” and “small, private farms” (website). It’s a gamble, but based on anecdotes here on BYC, not impossible. We’ll see in 7 days!

Yups, i heard about Happy Farms using independent farmers too, that's why I gave it a try. Looks like the farmers in the pool for my Happy Farms heritage eggs carton didn't have roosters . :-(

 

[pidgejr]

Oh ok, that makes sense.

I just can’t picture a farm keeping many roosters that would eat their profits if selling eating eggs was the goal. It does make me wonder why they would seek fertile eggs for eating though Are there people out there that think they taste different?

Yea I wondered about the same. I haven't heard anything scientific about eating fertile eggs being heathier, but I am sure that some of it is driven by the customer perceptions. I have heard people say blue eggs are healthier than white or brown eggs (not true) . And many times people I have known said they thought only the organic "healthy" eggs are brown ( also unture, you can have white egg layers whose hens were raised using organic or pasture raised methods which are just as healthy for them and us too). Even the heritage eggs sold by Happy Farms sell for a premium over the other eggs they sell as pasture raised. They are marketing to people who have the perception that the darker and blue eggs in those cartons are somehow better or healthier because they come from heritage breeds it seems.

 

[Xouie]

Species: chicken
Brand: Happy Eggs
Type: Brown and Blue Heritage
Store: Lucky supermarket in Alameda
Purchase by date: January 1

Expectation: very low, as even if some are fertile the eggs traveled over 1000 miles and were refrigerated for an unknown amount of time prior to purchase.

At 5.5 days I see no evidence of development in any of the eggs. (I have a light strong enough to view the dark brown.) I’m ending this set:

Success: 0%
Duration: 6 days*

*I’m pulling them out when the duck eggs go in later

 

[UThobbyfarmer]

At 5.5 days I see no evidence of development in any of the eggs. (I have a light strong enough to view the dark brown.) I’m ending this set:

Success: 0%
Duration: 6 days*

*I’m pulling them out when the duck eggs go in later

Swing and a miss! Better luck with your duck eggs. Which store are those from? And asian market?

I was surprisingly successful with my first, and only, duck hatch last year. I used the Metzer guide. Which has you wet the eggs and leave them on the counter to cool (after day 10) to simulate the waterfowl hen.

https://www.metzerfarms.com/IncubatingAndHatching.cfm