This is probably a very stupid question, but.... I just got a rooster and he has been trying to mate with my hens, I was wondering are all their eggs fertile from now on or is it just the next eggs that they lay after he mated with them? Another question I just thought of, Is there a way to tell if an egg is fertile after it is laid? Thanks for putting up with my questions. Also sorry if this is in the wrong spot, had no clue were to put it.
I have 4 hens and 4 roos and every single egg I find is fertile as I found out after I crack them for breakfast!! I don't know how to tell if an egg is fertile or not or else I wouldn't keep having to pick off the embryo every time I go to eat an egg...I'm sorry tthat I can't help you out!!
After mating a hen can lay fertile eggs for two or more weeks afterward. I have not heard of anyone finding a way to tell if they are fertile with out opening them.
You will have to sacrifice an egg or two in order to determine if they are fertile without incubating them. Crack one open and look for the white spot on the yoke. Teeny tiny spot like a pin head, not fertile. Slightly larger spot like a donut, fertile. Below is a fertile egg with the "donut" toward the bottom of the yolk. The other way to determine they are fertile is to incubate them. You can "candle" them after a week or so and look for developing veins or wait 21 days and see if something hatches.
