Incubating store bought eggs

[Sweetlilbaby]

One of the stores near me has their free range brown eggs on sale. Has anyone had success with hatching store bought free range eggs? I was thinking of trying with 2 dozen after my current babies hatch.

 

[Sweetlilbaby]

bump

 

[Ridgerunner]

I have to admit, that was patience, waiting that long before you bumped. I'll give you another bump.

I have not tried it, but others report they have, some with success. There is even a thread on here about using Trader Joe's eggs.

Free range does not mean a rooster is with them. It just means they have access to the outside. The smaller and more local that store is, the more likely you are to find fertile eggs with free range eggs. I'd think with the bigger store chains, the odds would be pretty small. To be free range, all a commercial operation has to do is cut a hole in the coop wall and have a very small outside area available to the hens. In advertising, free range really does not mean much. The big commercial operations don't want to feed a rooster that is not producing eggs, so the bigger the operation, the worse your odds.

What you would really need is to find some advertised as fertilized, but those are fairly rare. Maybe at some "natural" food store? You don't know how long those eggs have been stored either. Odds are they have been stored in a refrigerator and the bloom has been washed off them.

Is there a Farmer's Market near you? You can always talk to the people selling the eggs if fertile eggs is what you are after.

You can always try. Other than the cost of the two dozen eggs, what do you have to lose? Another option is to crack a few and look for the bull's eye. If you have one that is fertile, there is a pretty good chance another might be. Here's a thread with photos of the bull's eye, in case you need it.

Fertile Egg Photos
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=16008&p=6


Here is that Trader Joe's thread.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/628411/experienced-trader-joe-hatchers

 

[Nyowpotopop]

My understanding is that the refridgeration process kills the embryos. Our local store has white eggs that are amish and are sometimes fertilized.

However if you buy these eggs, start by eating a few. When you crack the egg open into your bowl/pan/whatever if there's a white spot on the yolk it's usually fertile. That way you can tell if there's even a chance any are hatchable.

 

[sourland]

Refrigeration in and of itself may not impact the hatchability of fertile eggs.