Was this egg fertile???

[dutchbunny83]

Two part question:

How can I tell if eggs I get from my nesting box are fertile before putting them in incubator? We have one rooster, which is 6 months old and a silkie. I've seen him try to mate with the hens, but it has never looked very successful as they just run away from him. I was hoping to get a fertile egg though....

Second, when I cracked an egg this morning there was a tiny dark red spot in it. Does this mean the egg was fertile or does that just happen?

THANKS!

 

[sumi]

Unfortunately there is no way of telling if an egg is fertile without either cracking it open or incubating it and checking for development after a few days. Here's some pics showing what to look for with a fresh (non-incubated) egg:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/16008/how-to-tell-a-fertile-vs-infertile-egg-pictures

The red spot you saw on the yolk is not a sign of fertility. It's called a blood spot and it's fairly common. ± 1% of all eggs laid have blood spot on the yolk. What happens is when the yolk is mature it is normally released from the only area of the yolk sac that is free of blood vessels. But occasionally the yolk sac ruptures at another point, causing blood vessels to break and this blood with appear on the yolk or in the white.

 

[dutchbunny83]

Very helpful, thanks so much!!!