How the rooster does the fertilizing,,,

[Blackjack1392]

Now, a fertile egg is just a potential chick, it is NOT an embryo. It will not start to develop into a chick until it reaches the right temp and humidity that result from a broody hen nesting on the eggs (or an incubator). So, a hen will ideally mate then lay eggs for several days/weeks until she has a clutch of fertile eggs, then brood and sit on those eggs. Once she sits the eggs will all start developing at the same time reguardless of when they were laid. 21 days later all of the chicks will hatch at the same time.

Once the egg has been laid the temperature drops and all cell division stops. What you have is a normal looking egg that is fine to eat. You can tell it is fertile from that very small white mark. (not the white chunky meat spots some people say are fertile, it is just a really faint small bullseye)

If the egg maintains a low temperature nothing will happen and no cell division will continue ever. If it reaches a high enough temp (from a broody hen or an incubator) then the cell division will restart and a chick will form.

So, you do need a broody (or fake broody machine) to make a chicken but you do not need one to have a fertile egg.

http://chickscope.beckman.uiuc.edu/resources/egg_to_chick/development.html

I thought of a question while reading these posts. You guys say that the forming of the embryo will not start until the right temp is reached, well how long will/can an egg be kept at normal temp before it goes bad? Can you take a fertile egg, keep it at room temp so it does not get cold, and then 3 weeks later put it under a hen or in an incubator and produce a chick?

 

[20736]

no.
the only thing the rooster contributes is the y zygote. Everything else depends on the hen(s). first eggs are smaller.

 

[gryeyes]

Viability in fertile eggs diminishes with time. Two weeks is about the furthest one can stretch the storage time and still hope an egg will hatch.

Several folks have hatched fertile grocery eggs, which have not only been stored but chilled. We just look for the most fresh cartons to incubate 'em. I have white leghorns in my flock which I hatched from Trader Joe's fertile eggs. Fun!

 

[donrae]

thanks everyone! I was arguing with another city girl that said something TOTALLY different...so this answers my question. Just started getting eggs today!! I have a silkie rooster and regular size hens. was told the eggs would be big from the tetra tints and red sex links....but these eggs are smaller, does that mean the silkie rooster mated and I am getting smaller eggs?

Your eggs are small because your hens are young and just starting to lay. They will get larger over the next few months until you have nice, large brown eggs.
Your silkie rooster has most likely mated with your hens and your eggs will be fertile. But the rooster has no say over egg size, the hen will lay the same size egg regardless of the size of the rooster or no rooster at all. He only effects the potential embryo inside, not egg size or shell color.

Since your hens are new layers you might also get eggs with no shell, weird bumps/ridges on the shell, double yolks, no yolks (fart eggs

) and meat spots inside. These things are all normal for a new layer and just glitches for her system to work out, no worries.

 

[CochinBrahmaLover]

Just so y'all know...
Waterfowl have penises, and if a gander or drake tries to mate with a chicken hen, it would kill the hen.
Just for some extra information

 

[IttyBiddyRedHen]

Great thread topic! I am a city girl, and still all new to this chicken/egg kinda thing. I am at the level of....2 yrs now....with chickens. DH stated, back in 2011, that he wanted chickens. He asks me....."how about 25, and what kind would you want?...."

He ended up getting 13 half wild OEGB's, from some guy up by where he works. He built 2 chicken tractors. In 2012, we got 11 Plymouth Rock chicks here locally. From a BYC member.
Found out that the hens don't go broody, so we ended up keeping 3 OEGB hens for that chore. Now we are down to 1 game hen. One of the other game hens hatched 7 mix chicks, back in April. Accidentally lost her head one month later.

Then, I was left with 1 poor game hen, who had to do the broody thing all herself. She just hatched 6 healthy PR chicks, July 1st. But, they are all PR and possibly some EE of the one EE roo we have.
Now, we are back to trying to breed some broody back into a flock that pretty much has none. I refuse to do the incubator thing, or candle any eggs. I want to let a broody do it all. But, need that broody drive/urge to handle that.

Oh, the adult PR/EE birds..and the 7 April chicks....all live in the big coop and pen we built. We ended up putting broody in the chicken tractor, as the PR hens were NOT happy with a broody game hen hogging their fave nesting box. They don't want to hatch..but they don't want anyone else in there sitting either.

So.....I am keeping an eye on any and all threads/posts.....and trying to learn and soak up information. We now have 2 OEGB/EE mix chicks (cockerel and pullet).......3 OEGB/PR cockerels....and the rest of them. 14 in the big coop/pen..1 broody and 6 chicks in the chicken tractor,

I need to learn about the egg thing. I have been leaving all fresh fertilized on the counter for 2-3 weeks...and setting the newest laid under the broody. Can they be retrieved from the fridge if they are just chilled and fertile?

 

[CochinBrahmaLover]

Yes but you need them to accumulate to air temp first, and you want to store big end up.
I suggest getting more OEGs, maybe a couple Cochins or silkies, if your looking for a hatcher then always go for standard. Easier to take away eggs from a big hen then add to a small

Always remember to cross breed your Broodie's in the flock, eventually their pullets will take on the mother hen role when you start getting low or come spring (its a deadly combination though, eventually you'll have 3 layers and 20 Broodie's )

 

[IttyBiddyRedHen]

Yes but you need them to accumulate to air temp first, and you want to store big end up.
I suggest getting more OEGs, maybe a couple Cochins or silkies, if your looking for a hatcher then always go for standard. Easier to take away eggs from a big hen then add to a small

Always remember to cross breed your Broodie's in the flock, eventually their pullets will take on the mother hen role when you start getting low or come spring (its a deadly combination though, eventually you'll have 3 layers and 20 Broodie's

)

Thank you for the info. I was confused on the egg temp issue.

I have the one game hen for broody.....the EE/OEGB pullet isn't POL yet. After that, I just have the 3 PR/OEGB cockerels to get some broody dna from. And of course, whenever broody hen goes back to laying...I can get more fertile eggs from her.