How to Tell a Fertile vs INfertile Egg (Pictures)

[kwynn's birds Alaska]

can you tell if they are fertil or infertil through the shell?

 

[speckledhen]

Nope you can't. Wish you could!

 

[dancingbear]

Quote:
I can't tell for sure, but at first glance they look fertile, to me.
You might have a closet roo. Or, have you had these hens long? Or was there a roo until recently? Hens are amazing creatures, and they can retain viable sperm inside their bodies for several weeks. I've had fertile eggs from hens who'd been without a roo for at least 6 weeks, though the frequency of fertile eggs will drop off as time passes.

Does this solve your mystery, or is one of your girls a boy?

 

[cjeanean]

Wow, thanks for the pics....I guess now I can tell my sis in law WITH PROOF that the little white stringy thing off to the side of the yolk isn't the sperm....she picks it off, cause she thinks that's what it is. Didn't matter that I told her that eggs from the store come from rooster-less chickens. LOL!!! I would LOVE to know how she thinks the whole chicken mating thing works...

 

[averytds]

Nope, these I've had since chicks. I still have one or two not laying yet, but gee they really look like hens to me.

I guess it doesn't matter for now as I don't care if we eat fertile eggs or not. Hoping to hatch a few next year though, so would be helpful to tell the difference. Ah well, I'll worry about it then. LOL

 

[Gloria]

Thanks for the great thread! I was just looking at my eggs for this yesterday! How'd ya know? LOL! Now I feel like I know what I'm doing.

So SpeckledHen, it is OK to eat a fertile egg? Sounds gross! But nothing wrong with it, right?
Thanks for the info. Inquiring minds need to know! LOL

 

[speckledhen]

You'll taste no difference in a fertile vs infertile egg. I eat them all the time. Anyone with a rooster in the flock does.

 

[Gloria]

Ok, thanks Speckled hen, for the help. I've been wondering about that now that I have my first roo.

 

[dancingbear]

Quote:
Oh, well, if some aren't quite old enough to lay yet, you probably do have a roo in there, it's just not obvious yet. I expect you'll start hearing "practice" crowing soon. I surprised you haven't, already, if he's already mating the hens. I think they usually start to crow before they start to mate, but I could be mistaken about that.

Either that or I'm mistaken and the eggs aren't fertile.

 

[Ricks Chicks]

Can you tell the difference when the egg is intact?