Store-bought Free-Range Eggs are developing!

[adrian]

I can't believe it! I just bought a dozen brown, free-range large chicken eggs from the grocery store and decided, as an experiment, to place them in the incubator... Today is day three and I'm seeing embryos in quite a number of the eggs! I am stunned. I honestly didn't think I'd see any development, and I'd heard that refrigerated eggs almost never develop, particularly if they are store-bought and not marked as "fertile". I was a little suspicious this morning when I saw that the yolk looked more pronounced in nearly all the eggs, and that it had certainly changed from its prior state when I first bought them. I simply let them sit over night to warm to room temperature and set them in the incubator.

I wonder what breed these babies are?
I should go count how many are showing signs of development, but there may be some stragglers that are just catching up – it's still early. I swear, they all seem to be doing something...

 

[Highlander]

Very exciting! Keep us posted on their development.

 

[Goose and Fig]

If they're brown eggs- you might get some production red or black chicks- usually some kind of RIR hybrids eggs. Good luck! Hope to see some picts!

 

[Three Cedars Silkies]

This is why is tell folks that I'm purchasing hatching eggs from that I don't mind if they refrigerate them while collecting for a few days prior to shipping.

When I only had one mottled bantam cochin hen, I would collect her eggs for 10 days and keep them refrigerated while I was collecting. Then, bring them all to room temp together and put them in the bator at the same time.

I usually had 100% hatches with them.

I'm sure some grocery stores purchase some of their eggs from "mom and pop" egg farms that have a roo with their hens.

Keep us posted on their development!

 

[racuda]

Quote:
As far as hatching refrigerated eggs, that may depend on how cold the refrigerator is set for.

As an experiment, I included a couple of refrigerated eggs under a broody. Although they had a bulls eye, they didn't develop.

 

[Junkmanme]

Well, there's been "time enough". What happened?

 

[adrian]

At least 10 out of 12 eggs are fertile and developing. I can see little embryos and veins. The only thing is that I think one of the 10 has been reduced to a blood ring. But that's probably just something unrelated to my incubation practices because it was so early.

So, 9 that are viable... And maybe there are stragglers. I'm going to wait a few more days to make sure. Pretty interesting, isn't it? So many fertile eggs. I never imagined that many would be; I thought maybe one or two at the most. I did crack open some eggs from a second box of eggs of the same brand, and didn't find any bulls eyes, after cracking about 4. So either this is a complete fluke or that one was.

I don't really mind what breed they are, I just find this fascinating.

I'll keep everyone updated on this extremely unlikely bunch of eggs.

 

[Chotii]

What brand of 'cage free, free range' are these? I can buy several brands of those sort of eggs at Trader Joe's OR Safeway - and probably also Albertson's, TOP Foods and QFC, but none of them say 'fertile' on the packaging.

Ironically, our local Puget Consumer's Co-op (PCC) does NOT appear to carry fertilized eggs, though they do carry raw cow's milk. I'm totally striking out here.

 

[becky3086]

This is really neat, I will have to try this with the free range eggs we get here.

 

[Three Cedars Silkies]

Quote:
As far as hatching refrigerated eggs, that may depend on how cold the refrigerator is set for.

As an experiment, I included a couple of refrigerated eggs under a broody. Although they had a bulls eye, they didn't develop.

That is probably true. Most refrigerators are set for 42-45 degrees and that is what mine runs.