How to tell the difference...

[bobbi-j]

I know that’s why you are to candle them to see the inside!!i have exactly 84 Chickens!I have had Chickens in my life going on 10 years!I think i know what i am doing.

I’m not sure what part of the egg you were talking about, sorry. I thought you meant the shell. In my 35+ years of chicken keeping, I have not been able to recognize a fertilized egg by candling until after at least 3-4 days of incubation, and more reliably after a week.

To the OP, Mrs. K has good advice. Check for a bullseye and keep track. Go to the education section of the forum - there are some good, clear pictures of what a fertile egg looks like, vs. an infertile egg.

 

[Courtneybroers1]

You can tell a fertilized egg by cracking it open.
Are you wanting the hens to hatch more chicks?
You can eat the eggs even if they are fertilized.

I just dont know if everytime they lay if the egg will be fertilized or not... like edible eggs...

 

[ChocolateMouse]

I just dont know if everytime they lay if the egg will be fertilized or not... like edible eggs...

It's safe to presume that most of your eggs will be fertile and that there's no way to tell without cracking them open or incubating them.

Fertilized eggs ARE edible eggs. With the exception of a cluster of cells smaller than the head of a pin they're just totally normal eggs.

They don't even start become chicks unless they're heated up to over 90*F for days.

There's no quantifiable difference between an infertile egg and a fertile one. Nutritionally they're identical.

 

[MarkJr]

I just dont know if everytime they lay if the egg will be fertilized or not... like edible eggs...

There is zero difference in fertile vs non fertile eggs from an eating standpoint.

 

[bobbi-j]

@Courtneybroers1 - here is the link to the pictures I mentioned earlier.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...-vs-infertile-egg-pictures.16008/#post-132086