Is there anyway I can tell if eggs are fertile when buying them?

[SophieLain127]

The person says they have one roo and 50 hens and doesn't know if one is fertile without opening it up. Is there a way to tell? I only want to buy 3-4 eggs.

 

[BirdBrain]

With that ratio I would thing your fertility rate would be pretty poor. You would probably have to set quite a few to get any fertiles.

 

[patandchickens]

Nope, absolutely no way to tell if they're fertile other than a) breaking them open or b) incubating them and seeing if something develops.

I would not personally bother buying eggs from a source with likely such low fertility. There are too many other places to get *reliably* fertile eggs, especially important if you will only be setting a few!

Good luck, have fun,

Pat

 

[Davaroo]

Quote:
Yep. Buy a lot

 

[SophieLain127]

After talking with her she has agreed to give me the eggs for free. So I think I'll take a chance.

How soon can I candle to see if they are developing?

 

[BirdBrain]

I have seen veins at day 4 but you are better off waiting until day 7 or 10 to throw out any clears.

 

[Elite Silkies]

Some might disagree, but you should be able to tell a fertile egg from a non fertile egg by the shell. If they look powdery they are not fertile, if they have a shine to them they are fertile.

I tested this theory last night and it was accurate. The shiny ones were fertile and the powdery looking ones were not fertile. That was on Silkie eggs, so other breeds I am unsure of yet.

 

[Davaroo]

Quote:
Thats interesting.
Personally, I wouldn't put too much stock in this, across the board. People have been trying to solve the fertile egg conundrum since the first chicken and egg question arose. If it were that simple, I reckon we'd have heard by now. But hey, you never know.

I suggest you study this further and keep us posted.

 

[Elite Silkies]

Quote:
Thats interesting.
Personally, I wouldn't put too much stock in this, across the board. People have been trying to solve the fertile egg conundrum since the first chicken and egg question arose. If it were that simple, I reckon we'd have heard by now. But hey, you never know.

I suggest you study this further and keep us posted.

I read it on a website (will have to search again and see if I can find it). She even had pictures of the shiny egg vs the dull powdery looking egg.

So, far it's been acurate, but hey who knows. I'll keep testing the theory.

 

[SophieLain127]

Those of you that have different breeds do you mark the eggs of each breed so you know what hatches and what doesn't?