How to Tell a Fertile vs INfertile Egg (Pictures)

[Fuzzy3338]

Ok great!! So there is no way to tell without cracking it open.
And if I wanted them to hatch just let the hen sit on em? How long is that process?

 

[chickey7]

So let me get this straight, bit new to the whole baby chicks stuff. You can take out a fertilized egg of its shell, double check its really fertilized and then put it back in its shell and the chick will still grow completely normal?

 

[sumi]

No, once you've taken the contents out of the egg you can't put it back in and incubate it. If you want to hatch some eggs take a few sample eggs from your flock and check them for fertility, if most of them or all of them are fertile chances are the rest of the eggs laid around the same time will be too. A hen will lay fertile eggs for roughly 3 weeks after one successful mating, so if you have a rooster with the hens and he's doing his job you should have plenty fertile eggs to hatch. If you candle the egg around 7 days into incubation you should be able to see if it's developing. And that is the only way of checking fertility without breaking the egg open.

 

[chickey7]

Oh I get it now, thank you so much! Heaps of help!!

 

[Angelak]

How many days after laid can u candle to c if it is a fertile egg?or does it have to be incubating so long b4 u can tell if its fertile?

 

[sumi]

You need to incubate the egg for a few days and candle it to see if it's developing. That is the only way of checking fertility in an intact egg. If the eggs you are incubating have pale shells and you have a strong light you may be able to tell after 4 days, but before 7 days you usually won't be able to see much or tell for sure.

 

[Angelak]

Sumi thank u for the added info.BOY ! Im learning more n more.....maybe this time I will have successful hatches.....fingers crossed....

 

[chickey7]

I cracked my eggs open today and I found they have a white dot like the first one, does this mean that all infertile ones have them?

 

[LouLou9]

Do you eat the fertile eggs?

 

[sumi]

There is very little difference between fertile and infertile eggs and they all taste the same. I've eaten many fertile eggs myself. Some people are a bit squeamish about "that little extra" in the egg and some are concerned that they will crack the egg open and find a developing chick. But that won't happen unless the egg was incubated.