Oh No, What If They're Not Fertile???

[wsdareme]

Okay, I'm in a little bit of a panic now...

I just set 7 Black Copper Marans eggs. I have 1 rooster for 21 hens. I was told that he may be "spread" too thin and the fertility of the eggs may be poor. And, because it's still cold weather, that fertility tends to be even lower.

I know Stumpy covers his hens and is very gentlemanly about it (maybe he just doesn't have a lot of energy...). I've seen him frequently near the BCM hen, so I'm hoping she's his favorite and she has provided me with very fertile eggs.

Those doggone BCM eggs are so hard to candle! I'm waiting for a candler to come in the mail, but my eggs are really, really dark...

Can anyone give me any info that would make me feel better???

 

[ranchhand]

Have you been checking them for fertility prior to setting them? I usually check for a week or so to see what the percentage is running. Since they're already set, wait until Day 10, candle and then see how it's going. Meanwhile, keep checking the fertility as you eat them.

Hope you have a great hatch!

 

[wsdareme]

I never even thought about checking them. Duhh.

Okay, I just had a 4-egg omelet for breakfast. I believe 3 of the 4 were fertile (#3 broke and I was trying to look fast before the yolk spread all over, but I'm pretty sure I saw a white dot). The 4th was definitely not.

3 of the eggs were yesterday's eggs, the 4th was an egg from the same BCM hen that I set the 7 eggs from. I had it out in the refrigerator in the garage. Here's a picture of her egg, and there's no doubt it's fertile:

I'm hoping this is an indication that ALL SEVEN of my BCM eggs are just as fertile! Well, I can HOPE, can't I??