How do I know if eggs are fertile?

[maburg81]

HI all! New here and have a few questions.
We have 1 Indian Runner and 1 Khaki Campbell. We thought they were both girls but last week we got back from vacation and realized our Khaki had made herself a nest by our pond with 11 eggs. Our Indian Runner has been hanging out around it a lot too. Now, I'm pretty sure the IR is a drake bc he has that very low muttery quack where the KC is very loud. Anyway, we took out about 6 eggs bc we could see that they weren't good....turning black inside and sank like rocks in the float test. We candled and float tested the rest. They all bobbed just above the water surface, have a visible air bubble at candling but are dark inside otherwise. I didn't get a pic but from what I've seen on other candling sites, our eggs resembled a 25 day old good egg. So my question is...Is there any sure way to know if they're still good without breaking them? I'm assuming we'll just have to wait and see but I'm afraid the bad eggs ruined the good ones as we didn't catch them in time. Sorry for the long post and thanks in advance for any advice!

 

[cluckintexan]

I wish I could give some help, but I need advice in this area as well lol.

 

[cppeace]

To know if an egg is fertile there are two ways. Crack one and see if it has the bulls eye dot in the middle of yoke or let it incubate for about 4 -5 days and then candle and see if you see veins starting.
Ducks are fun to hatch if you decide to try.

 

[maburg81]

To know if an egg is fertile there are two ways. Crack one and see if it has the bulls eye dot in the middle of yoke or let it incubate for about 4 -5 days and then candle and see if you see veins starting.
Ducks are fun to hatch if you decide to try.

HI! Thank you. My problem is that I'm pretty sure she's had this nest longer than we realize as half of them were already rotten. I'm leery about cracking them as I'm afraid they'll either be nasty rotten or fully formed chicks at this point. The ones we candled had a clear air pocket but the rest of it was dark.

 

[maburg81]

I wish I could give some help, but I need advice in this area as well lol.

I've been reading up on it as much as I can bc we weren't prepared for this lol. We've jist been collecting and eating them so to find this was quite a surprise. All the info I'm getting is overwhelming and somewhat confusing.

 

[maburg81]

I wish I could give some help, but I need advice in this area as well lol.

I've been reading up on it as much as I can bc we weren't prepared for this lol. We've jist been collecting and eating them so to find this was quite a surprise. All the info I'm getting is overwhelming and somewhat confusing.

 

[cppeace]

How dark are the eggs? If they aren't very dark and been above 85 for more than few days and were fertile you'd see veins and possibly movement. Try the float test to see if rotten as well as can see if there is movement in eggs too dark to candle.

 

[maburg81]

They were pretty dark. We don't have a real candler just used a flash light in a dark room. They've been there for a few weeks now I'm sure. The one we knew was rotten sank right to the bottom but the others floated and had a very visible air bubble.

How dark are the eggs? If they aren't very dark and been above 85 for more than few days and were fertile you'd see veins and possibly movement. Try the float test to see if rotten as well as can see if there is movement in eggs too dark to candle.

They've been out there for a few weeks I'm sure as 5 out of 11 were already rotten. We could tell that from the outside. The ones we knew were rotten sank right to the bottom when put in water. The rest floated just above the surface. They were pretty dark when candled but a very distinct air bubble. I didn't get a picture of it, but it looked almost exactly like the image I attached to this reply but I didn't notice a ring of veins.

 

[cppeace]

Just sounds like a nest of mixed old and new infertile eggs to me. Or if fertile not being brooded just getting warm enough to spoil. I'd just chuck them all and then check for bullseye with next fresh egg.

 

[JeanR]

I have NEVER had a rotten egg in more than 50 years of poultry. This includes eggs in nests that hens"stole" outside, well hidden, and after being in the slightly protected nest, in rain and cold night, warm or hot days from egg 1 and more than 2 weeks more, as each egg was laid, then under the hen for 21 days more, before hatching. when she brought in a flock of chicks (after being sure that by then. the hen had been taken by a varmint!) Nest found, and usually every egg hatched, after being on the ground (perfect humidity) for up to 40 days. (And any egg that was infertile, clear, and did not hatch, is not spoiled, just Old! Does not mean that you did not! Don't be afraid to open a dark egg (just hope it wasn't an almost fully developed chick-air space is not always well seen). Just do it at a garbage dump or similar place, with a shovel or dirt to eliminate gunk and odor. if it IS spoiled! Good luck the next round!

Usually, it is possible to locate a hen that is laying in a "hidden" nest, as most often she will come in most every day, for feed and water, and if you are about when she comes in, she will sneak back only when she thinks you are not watching! And she can be off the nest for several hours, with not problem with the eggs setting. You may or may not be able to move her and her eggs in (at night and into a lockup, so she can't leave!) Ducks might be harder, as they do love to nest "out"!