How can I tell if my eggs are fertile?

[rebecca10782]

?

 

[Mrs MIA]

There's a thread here that Speckledhen started showing pictures of the bullseye on the yolk of fertile eggs...

You can either crack it open to check for the bullseye, or set it in the incubator and wait and see.

Edited to add the link...https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=16008

 

[rebecca10782]

Oh, well we have two broody hens. So, I figure I should let them hatch some out but the problem is that we have a very inexperienced 5 month old bantam roolet. So, I don't want to crack them open. I thought there was a way of telling weither an egg was fertilized while still in the shell. I have seen one hen let him do his thing but most of them just kick him off. So, I want to find out weither the eggs she is sitting on are fertile. Do you think that there is much of a chance that a guy this age is getting the job done properly?

 

[Mrs MIA]

I dunno...

It's possible, I guess. When I have newly laying hens, I will usually eat the eggs until I crack one open that has a bullseye. Then they start going in the incubator. Nope, the only way to do it without opening it is to let them set on them and see if they develop.

 

[rebecca10782]

Well, that's a good point. I didn't think of opening them until I see a fertized one.

 

[walkswithdog]

I toss em in the bator if it's eggs I need. I crack em til I see fertile in eggs I don't. Only took our Jake three days to get to fertile on the new hens after the other two were killed by a fox. I'd have been wrong about how long it would take. I put up the first three but set the next four and voila, two of them went. If I'd thought a week or so, I'd have wasted an egg I need.

 

[adrian]

...Can you not just candle the eggs? Generally after a day or two, the germinal disc is quite obvious on the yolk compared to the yolk of an infertile egg. It's like a small, penny-sized (or smaller) dot on the yolk that sways with the egg.

Here's a good link:

http://www.minkhollow.ca/HatchingProgram/Candling/Week1/Day-2.html

 

[Mrs MIA]

You would still need to incubate it for a couple of days, so why not just wait 7 days and see if they develop?

 

[walkswithdog]

Most people new enough to ask the question can't tell fertility on immediate candle. Most new people can see a set of spider veins and a bobber at a week.

 

[Mrs MIA]

Bobber.