how do I know my eggs are fertile and what do I do about it?!?

when you crack open a fertile egg you will see a small bullseye. do a bulls eye search on here and there is a picture

 

Only problem w/that is it's kind of hard to hatch them out after you've cracked the shell.

 

Quote: Eggzactly what I was thinking!

Try searching for threads about candling.

 

What Muddyhorse is implying is that you should check some of your eggs to see if they are even fertile before you set them. After you have cracked a few and know that you have the bullseye showing you that they are fertile then you can set some of your eggs. I don't think that candling will give you any inclination as to the egg being fertile or not. The only thing you will see when candling the egg is the yolk and air sac. That is until you have set the eggs and wait a few days and then candle. But even at that you could be wasting your time/broody hen on infertile eggs. Does that make any sense?

ETA: Some one please correct me if I am wrong. I have been known to be from time to time

 

one way to know for sure is to make sure you have a rooster,,lol.

 

Quote:You are absolutely correct!

 

Quote:AND make sure he's making contact with the hen. My silkie hens have such a thick cushion and my roo is so fluffy they are too far apart for fertilization to be successful. I think the serious breeders may trim some of the feathers away from the hen's vent to make contact more likely.

 

Here is a link to a thread that has pictures of what to look for after you crack an egg or two.
It is better to crack a few eggs a day or so appart to make sure that they are actually fertile.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=16008