Hi, I just got my female laying and how am i supposed to tell if the eggs are fertile all i know is there will be veins? But if i let her lay on them will the veins develop or when their lain they already have the veins? how to tell if they are fertile all to know! thnx
you wont get veins untill at least 3 to 5 days of incubation. You could always crack 1 open and look to see if its fertile.
I am going blind looking for an answer to my question. I keep reading that you should crack the egg open. Then people keep saying there is a trick to getting the egg back in the shell. Doesn't candling work too? How do you get the shell closed back up?
Um....you don't. Not sure where you read this. you have to crack the egg open to see if there is a bullseye to tell if it's fertile, or incubate it, and if it develops, of course you know then.
Check this thread - it has really good pics of fertile and INfertile eggs: https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/16008/how-to-tell-a-fertile-vs-infertile-egg-pictures
There's a pretty good chance that if mating is going on, if the hen is cooperating, if they are close enough in size, if there isn't an absolutely huge amount of butt feathers (as in certain Orps,) that the eggs are fertile, or at least most are. If you don't want to waste hatching eggs by cracking them, either only crack one, or just incubate and see what develops. There are other factors in getting a live chick besides the bullseye, so really, the best test is incubation.
once they have been incubated for 5-8 days, then veins should start to appear, if they are fertile. If not, the eggs should stay clear.
