I didn't see a silly question section so I chose here to post. I am planning on getting some chickens and I am trying to gain as much knowledge as I can. I would love to have a few chickens and maybe a rooster. Having fresh eggs would be the added benefit. Sooo, if I have a rooster and a few hens wouldn't that result in having fertilized eggs? I don't really want to be cracking open fertilized eggs for breakfast. Also can a town have no ordinance against chickens but have one against roosters? Tammy
Hi again, Tammy. The only silly question is the one not asked! While a rooster is necessary if you ever want to have some baby chicks running around, you have nothing to worry about when you crack open a freshly collected egg that has been layed by hen that has been bred. Fertilized eggs need to be incubated for several days before anything even starts happening inside the egg. There is no difference in taste or appearance. If you collect your eggs and don't let a broody hen set on them (for days and days) you will never know the difference. Good question!! Happy eating!
Fertilized eggs won't taste or look different (unless you look really close ) than non fertile if you gather your eggs daily. if a broody hen sits on them for a while they start to develop and then there will be changes. Many towns/cities allow a certain number of hens but ban roos (as a noise nuisance).
Every section on here is for silly questions. This forum would dry up and die if we did not get them. I don’t consider your questions silly. The only true silly question is the one not asked that causes you to have problems. We all had to start somewhere. If you have a rooster with your hens, you will have fertile eggs. That’s an advertising gimmick with some health food or organic stores. “Hey, we have fertile eggs!! Give us more money for them!!!!” There is no significant difference in fertile eggs and non-fertile eggs in appearance, nutrients, how they cook up, or how they store. If you know what to look for and see the bull’s eye, the egg is fertile but as far as use, it really does not make any difference. You are not going to crack one open and find a surprise. There is one condition where this on not true. If you incubate a fertile egg it will develop. It’s actually possible to get some development in an egg stored in the 80’s Fahrenheit. It takes a while for the development to get to a point that you will notice, so if you gather your eggs once a day and store them in a reasonably cool place, you will not see anything. Something else that confuses a lot of people about this. It’s not tremendously unusual for eggs to have blood spots or meat spots in them. You can look those up in this link if you wish. These have absolutely nothing to do with a rooster or fertile eggs. This can happen to any egg. The commercial egg operations electronically scan their eggs before they are packaged to remove these eggs so the customer does not get a surprise. There is nothing wrong with these eggs as far as safety goes but there can be a YUK! factor. Many of these eggs are sold to bakeries or such where the customer does not see the spots. Egg Quality Handbook http://www.thepoultrysite.com/ourbooks/1/egg-quality-handbook/ Before you get too far about getting chickens, you need to check your local ordinances about what the rules are. Some allow them but a lot of cities, towns, HOA’s, and such have rules, regulations, and restrictions. These might be things like number of chickens, restrictions on roosters, distance from property lines or residences, whether or not you can butcher, or about anything else. A good place to start is your local animal control officer if you have one. Or maybe your town clerk can point you in the right direction. Good luck with it. Hope you can join us in the journey.
Welcome to BYC. Redsoxs and Ridgerunner give great information as usual. Absolutely there are no silly questions! Well, maybe I have seen one or two.
