How do you know if eggs are fertile

[Heather67]

I'm not sure I'm asking in the right forum or the right way. If I have a Roo and he is mating with my hens my hens have eggs, how do I know the eggs will be baby chics. Should I leave the egg under the chicken should I retrieve the egg and use it for food? I know I don't have to have an incubator and that the hen can hatch chicks but how do I know the egg she lays will be fertile to hatch? I hope I'm asking this the right way....

 

[FeatherstoneFrm]

If you want babies and she is sitting on the eggs wait 5-7 days and candle them to see if they are developing.
If she is not sitting on them, collect them and eat them.

 

[Heather67]

If you want babies and she is sitting on the eggs wait 5-7 days and candle them to see if they are developing.
If she is not sitting on them, collect them and eat them.

Thank you!

 

[Aceoky]

Some chickens will never sit to hatch (go broody) if she isn't sitting they're fine to eat.

 

[aart]

I'm not sure I'm asking in the right forum or the right way. If I have a Roo and he is mating with my hens my hens have eggs, how do I know the eggs will be baby chics. Should I leave the egg under the chicken should I retrieve the egg and use it for food? I know I don't have to have an incubator and that the hen can hatch chicks but how do I know the egg she lays will be fertile to hatch? I hope I'm asking this the right way....

You can look at the yolks while breaking open eggs to eat:
This thread shows a plethora of examples of fertile and non-fertile yolks:
http://www.backyardchickens.com/t/16008/how-to-tell-a-fertile-vs-infertile-egg-pictures

Gather eggs daily, save some of the freshest aside in case a hen goes broody.
Whether a hen goes broody or not depends n the individual bird, some never go broody.
Here's some signs of a broody hen:
Is she on nest most the day and all night?
When you pull her out of nest and put her on the ground, doesn't she flatten right back out into a fluffy screeching pancake?
Does she walk around making a low cluckcluckcluckcluckcluck sound on her way back to the nest?
If so, then she is probably broody and you'll have to decide how to manage it.