Hatching Supermarket Eggs

[Duck_Lover123]

Hello, I have been looking to incubate some supermarket eggs out of curiosity to see what would happen. Obviously, conventional egg brands almost always cull males. So I was wondering if there were certain brands like for example, Vital Farms which pasture raise chickens and have chances of being with roosters. What are some recommended egg brands that are more liley to contain fertilized eggs.

 

[mydaisy]

I've heard of people hatching eggs from https://happyegg.com/

 

[NatJ]

Hello, I have been looking to incubate some supermarket eggs out of curiosity to see what would happen. Obviously, conventional egg brands almost always cull males. So I was wondering if there were certain brands like for example, Vital Farms which pasture raise chickens and have chances of being with roosters. What are some recommended egg brands that are more liley to contain fertilized eggs.

I found a thread about hatching grocery store eggs. It is a number of years old by now, but some of the information might still be useful:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...re-egg-hatching-club-are-you-a-member.290845/

If I was desperate for eggs to hatch, and didn't have any other good sources, I would buy "cage free" eggs from any store and give it a try. The reason for cage free: there are always a few sexing errors with chicks. In a cage-free setting, even one "oops" rooster could mate with quite a lot of hens, and it is hard to catch him to remove him, so the farmer may not bother. If the hens are in cages, an "oops" rooster can only mate with the few hens in his own cage, and it is easy to catch him and remove him. So "cage free" has a higher likelihood of fertile eggs even if the farmer was trying to have no roosters at all.

 

[Susan Skylark]

Between very unlikely rooster contact (low or No fertility), age of the eggs (several weeks), and refrigeration (cuts hatch rate in half) I’m guessing this would just be a waste of eggs and time, not to mention what breeds you might get (do you really want a commercial egg layer hybrid cross?). Check Facebook, a farmers market or local online want ads for anyone with a few locally grown eggs for sale or some barnyard mix eggs they might have, or try some commercial quail eggs, they are often fertile!

 

[farmer90]

You might have more chances with local farmers market eggs than grocery store eggs. Also make sure they are fresh and not refrigerated. Good luck!

 

[Ridgerunner]

This is one where you are asking for specific stores knowing where you are could help. While you never say never, anything is possible, the likelihood of getting a hatchable egg from a major commercial egg laying operation is extremely tiny. As a rule, they are not going to pay to feed and house a rooster that is not laying eggs, that cuts into the profits. Profit margins are small enough to start with.

Some specialty stores (Trader Joe's for example) might sell fertile eggs if they have a source. Eggs actually marked "fertile". Depending in how long and how those eggs have been stored and handled they might be hatchable. I have no idea what specialty stores might be available in your area. That's why local knowledge can be important.

And of course there are farmer's markets where you can talk to the people bringing the eggs to market.

Free range eggs have nothing to do with whether a rooster is present. It just means they have access to the outside. Cage free also has nothing to do with a rooster, it just means they are not locked into small cages. I understand these phrases have a certain perception but many people would be shocked and disappointed to learn what it actually takes for them to be free range or cage free.

I'm not sure what your motivation is. If you want to actually hatch chicks we can help you look for hatchable eggs. If you just want to experiment, go for it and have fun. Nothing wrong with that.

Good luck.

 

[Smokerbill]

Since you're just curious as to whether they'd hatch, buy a dozen commercial eggs, break a half dozen to eat, looking for the bullseye that indicates fertility. If some seem to be fertilized try hatching the other six. If not, try another brand of eggs.