knowing when eggs are fertile or not..?

[thedoors5to1]

i want to sell my duck eggs, i posted an ad on craigslist and have a good amount of people wanting fertile eggs. how can i tell if they are fertilized or not so i can sell them for hatching? can you really candle them to see a "spot" that tells you they're fertile? i dont want to sell unfertilized eggs to people, i see my ducks get it on some times but not alot... lol. THANKS

 

[CKMom]

I think the only way you can truly tell is if you isolate the pair, and then candle the eggs before selling them.
I recently donated some eggs to a school project and I thought they would be fertile, but had trouble candling them(EEs). Early this week I found out they were, because they are chicks now!

 

[One Acre Wonder Farm]

I don't think candling will work. The only way to be sure is to crack a few open and look for the bullseye or incubate them for a few days to see if they develop. I'd want to know that fertility was consistent before I sold them as hatching eggs but you might try selling some as "test" eggs at a reduced rate if you are not certain. Just make sure your testers keep you posted so you know how good fertility is...

Have you seen the drake treading the ducks? How many drakes/ducks do you have?

 

[thedoors5to1]

thanks guys, one acre wonder farm i have three females two males, what do you mean treading? im not really into isolating pairs in order to get fertile eggs, my ducks well being and happiness comes before anything else and i know they would all hate to be seperated... sounds cruel to do in order to make a few cha ching.

 

[One Acre Wonder Farm]

I agree, separating is not necessary

By treading, I mean have you seen the males mating the females? If so, they're probably fertile but if you're selling them as hatching eggs you should be sure first. The easiest way, IMHO, is to crack a few eggs and look for the "bullseye" on the yolk. If you see the bullseyes then you know the boys have been doing their job(s)!