Not Sure if Eggs are Fertile?

[WingedBeauty]

Since I have no experience hatching eggs and also have a not-so-great candler, I need a bit of help.

I can't see any signs of babies in the eggs now, but I'm pretty sure I saw an eye in egg 16 a few days ago. (Perhaps because usually candle them when it's still light?) However, the air sacs are growing in at least some.

Is anyone able to tell which -if any of these- are good to hatch? They're a little more than 2 weeks old.

To save a bit of space, I'll just link you to the album. https://www.backyardchickens.com/g/a/6992359/candling-eggs/

 

[AmyLynn2374]

Since I have no experience hatching eggs and also have a not-so-great candler, I need a bit of help.

I can't see any signs of babies in the eggs now, but I'm pretty sure I saw an eye in egg 16 a few days ago. (Perhaps because usually candle them when it's still light?) However, the air sacs are growing in at least some.

Is anyone able to tell which -if any of these- are good to hatch? They're a little more than 2 weeks old.

To save a bit of space, I'll just link you to the album. https://www.backyardchickens.com/g/a/6992359/candling-eggs/

They all appear to be clear. At two weeks there shouldn't be a question there's something in there. It would help you a whole lot if you candled in a darkened room. Even at day 5 you can usually see significant growth. This is one of my eggs yesterday at day 5:




This is a great candling link to get an idea of where your development should be as well: https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/...g-candling-pics-progression-though-incubation

 

[AmyLynn2374]

Do you know how to look for the signs of fertility in a freshly collected egg by breaking it open? If not crack open an egg into a bowl and look for the "bullseye" on the yolk. All yolks will have a small white spot (Germinal disk or blastodisk) when an egg is fertilized and cell division occurs it will change into the blastoderm causing a "bullseye" formation. This is what it looks like:



If you see that "bullseye" you know that you have fertilization.

 

[WingedBeauty]

We checked an egg the day before we started collecting and it was fertile, but I suppose that doesn't mean that these are, too. Unfortunately, since my roo passed on I can't check any fresh eggs for bullseyes. Also, thanks for that link! It looks really cool

 

[WingedBeauty]

There's also this weird blob near the bottom of egg 16. Is it anything? Maybe a quitter?

 

[AmyLynn2374]

There's also this weird blob near the bottom of egg 16. Is it anything? Maybe a quitter?

My guess would be quitter or bacteria.

 

[WingedBeauty]

It turns out that it was bacteria. My mother thought that "it wasn't safe for the eggs to wash them" and I actually believed her.

 

[AmyLynn2374]

It turns out that it was bacteria. My mother thought that "it wasn't safe for the eggs to wash them" and I actually believed her.

Yes, that is a big arguement. To wash or not to wash. Most people do not wash because it takes the "bloom" off the egg which in turns supposedly leaves the egg at a higher risk for bacteria invasion.

 

[Webersome123]

Your mother is right. Washing the eggs removes the protective 'bloom' that helps keep bacteria from entering the egg. Unless the egg is extremely dirty, it's best not to wash them.