Okay so I just learned here how exactly fertilization of eggs works and that its not as straight forward as I thought. I never knew you could set aside fertile eggs for awhile without them dying, and that they only started developing once incubated (by us or by mama hen). Keep this in the back of your mind.
I was excitedly telling my mom this past week about my desire to raise backyard chickens and have fresh eggs and healthy meat to eat, because when she was younger her parents and grandparents use to raise chickens. When I decided that I would like a rooster to "service" the hens and hopefully hatch some chicks, she laughed at me and said good luck with that. Knowing about all the folks here sharing their hatching stories, I didn't get her sarcasm. She said in all the years my grandparents had chickens they NEVER had chicks. I didn't know what to say, so I just figured maybe she's right. Maybe its NOT as easy as it sounds.
I read more about it on the forum. Couldn't find any real reason to think I'd need 'good luck with that'.
Yesterday we went over for dinner, and when we started talking about chickens, I was telling her I NEVER really understood the reproduction process of chickens. She didn't quite understand what I meant. Upon explaining further, she started laughing out loud and told me she apparently never "got it" either! I didn't feel so stupid now! She goes, so how do you tell the difference between an unfertilized egg and a fertile one? I said you shine a really bright light through it and you'll see a little red dot. She laughed harder.
I had thought you couldn't eat them, and since she had been just as confused on the whole matter as I was, I figured she didn't know it wasn't "gross". I told her, and she said no its not that!
"All along we always just picked out the red thing," she said. "I've never had to do that with any eggs I bought from the store!" She couldn't believe she never made the connection and found it hilarious. "We never had chicks! We ate them all for breakfast!"
You should have heard how hard she was laughing.
I was excitedly telling my mom this past week about my desire to raise backyard chickens and have fresh eggs and healthy meat to eat, because when she was younger her parents and grandparents use to raise chickens. When I decided that I would like a rooster to "service" the hens and hopefully hatch some chicks, she laughed at me and said good luck with that. Knowing about all the folks here sharing their hatching stories, I didn't get her sarcasm. She said in all the years my grandparents had chickens they NEVER had chicks. I didn't know what to say, so I just figured maybe she's right. Maybe its NOT as easy as it sounds.
I read more about it on the forum. Couldn't find any real reason to think I'd need 'good luck with that'.
Yesterday we went over for dinner, and when we started talking about chickens, I was telling her I NEVER really understood the reproduction process of chickens. She didn't quite understand what I meant. Upon explaining further, she started laughing out loud and told me she apparently never "got it" either! I didn't feel so stupid now! She goes, so how do you tell the difference between an unfertilized egg and a fertile one? I said you shine a really bright light through it and you'll see a little red dot. She laughed harder.
I had thought you couldn't eat them, and since she had been just as confused on the whole matter as I was, I figured she didn't know it wasn't "gross". I told her, and she said no its not that!
"All along we always just picked out the red thing," she said. "I've never had to do that with any eggs I bought from the store!" She couldn't believe she never made the connection and found it hilarious. "We never had chicks! We ate them all for breakfast!"
You should have heard how hard she was laughing.
