My first egg!

[lilshadow]

I went out to feed and water the girls and the roo today, and had my first egg. This is great! I also noticed that one of the girls was sitting in a nesting box, clucking, and she would take shavings and put them behind her, then she would get up and turn around in the box, and sit back down. She did this for a good fifteen minutes. Does this mean anything, or am I just excited about my chickens. I didn't realize I would get chicken fever but I have....lol

 

[Buster]

Chicken fever gets even the best of us-lol! The hen in the box is laying an egg for you! Hooray for you!

 

[johnnyjack]

cool maybe.........how old are they

 

[lilshadow]

I got them 2 days ago from a local farmer, and was told they were a year old....This is so great.

 

[lilshadow]

I might have done something really bad.....I was so excited about my first egg. I candled it, just to make sure, I didn't see anything in the middle of the egg so I put it in the fridge. My son came home and said "mom let me see your egg" so I showed him he candled it, and there is a spot at the bottom of the shell about the size of a nickle. He told me that I put a fertilized egg in the fridge. I feel horrible. How can I tell for sure if it wasn't fertlized?

 

[Wildsky]

Isn't it exciting!!

You can crack it open and look on the yolk - if there is a small white spot like a target - then it was a fertilized egg...
I don't think you can tell by candleing if it was fertile or not.

 

[arlee453]

You can't tell just from candling if the egg is fertile unless it has been incubated for several days. If you collected it within a day (or even two or three or more) of when it was laid, there is no time for the embryo to develop, even if the momma hen was sitting on it full time.

If you have a rooster with your girls, OR if they had a rooster back at their old home, they will probably be laying fertile eggs. The hens store up sperm from the rooster for up to 3-4 weeks after a successful mating.

Just eat the eggs and don't worry about it - only a very trained eye can tell any difference between fertile and non-fertile eggs as long as they haven't been incubated. There is no difference in appearance or taste. If it IS fertile, it won't develop AT ALL unless it's been incubated either by a broody hen or in an artifical incubator.

Depending on what type of hens you have, they probably wouldn't sit on their eggs anyway, as only a few breeds are consistently 'broody' = meaning they will sit on eggs to hatch them. Most breeds have been bred so they do NOT go broody. For reliable egg production, you want a hen that won't sit on her eggs, but will just continue to lay them on a regular basis.

Hope that helps - if it's clear as mud, feel free to ask away for clarification.

 

[lilshadow]

Whew! That is a big relief guess I will have a great breakfast tomorrow. By the way what hens are great brooders?