Weird egg, candling pics. Could be normal?

[nebulathechicken]

Update: I feel REALLY REALLY stupid! I had a nagging suspicion that all my “good” eggs were just yolkers from the get go, so I cracked one open and it turns out they all were. I can’t believe it took me until day 14 to figure it out. I have a pretty big rooster, standard large Chochin, and he has been mating with some smaller hens. Does size affect fertility? Also, I was storing my eggs at 55 degree Fahrenheit, but I read somewhere on here that you shouldn’t store your eggs at any temperature above 20 Fahrenheit! Is that true? It’s been a learning experience for sure, thanks for helping me realize my BIG mistake!

 

[EggSighted4Life]

I have a pretty big rooster, standard large Chochin, and he has been mating with some smaller hens. Does size affect fertility? Also, I was storing my eggs at 55 degree Fahrenheit, but I read somewhere on here that you shouldn’t store your eggs at any temperature above 20 Fahrenheit! Is that true? It’s been a learning experience for sure, thanks for helping me realize my BIG mistake!

Size does NOT effect fertility.. if he can hit the spot.

Eggs stored at 20 degrees F will all be dead from freezing IMO. Maybe the meant Celsius? 55 F is a good temp.

Here is my favorite hatch resource with LOTS of valid and accurate information, hope you like it too...
https://www.hubbardbreeders.com/media/incubation_guideen__053407700_1525_26062017.pdf

I'm sure many of us have cracked open a viable embryo during our learning process! It takes practice... MUST hatch more.

 

[Criticalicious]

It's OK - my first batch, I let 7 eggs sit for 4 weeks before I gave up and discovered all yolks. Those were from my own chickens with a rooster over them. Marans eggs are supposedly "Impossible" to candle so thought it was just me being unable to see through the dark brown shell. The eggs had been stored in the basement around 55 deg F. Second attempt, I got eggs fresh from a local breeder and had 100% hatch into chicks. Learning experience - now I recognize a yolk egg versus a developing embryo.

 

[nebulathechicken]

Size does NOT effect fertility.. if he can hit the spot.

Eggs stored at 20 degrees F will all be dead from freezing IMO. Maybe the meant Celsius? 55 F is a good temp.

Here is my favorite hatch resource with LOTS of valid and accurate information, hope you like it too...
https://www.hubbardbreeders.com/media/incubation_guideen__053407700_1525_26062017.pdf

I'm sure many of us have cracked open a viable embryo during our learning process! It takes practice... MUST hatch more.

Thanks, I can see how addictive it could become. This information will help a lot.

 

[nebulathechicken]

It's OK - my first batch, I let 7 eggs sit for 4 weeks before I gave up and discovered all yolks. Those were from my own chickens with a rooster over them. Marans eggs are supposedly "Impossible" to candle so thought it was just me being unable to see through the dark brown shell. The eggs had been stored in the basement around 55 deg F. Second attempt, I got eggs fresh from a local breeder and had 100% hatch into chicks. Learning experience - now I recognize a yolk egg versus a developing embryo.

Your first experience sounds exactly like mine. Do you think my rooster is having fertility issues? Congrats on the 100 percent hatch! I’m sure time brings experience.
Also, do you think it would be wise to set another clutch from my hens? The rooster is new this year, and we put him into the flock a few months ago.... thanks

 

[Criticalicious]

It's hard to say about your rooster. I know that my roo had had a respiratory infection about 3 months prior and it may have affected his fertility. If you want to set another clutch to test your theory, you have nothing to lose, right? In my case, I decided to get hatching eggs from a local breeder because they were available and because it will increase the genetic diversity of my tiny flock.

 

[AquaDuck]

Have you seen your roo mate all the hens? I remember having a huge Brahma roo once, he only mated the hens the first year, then went into retirement. Year 2 all the chicks were from the 2'nd in command roo...
Are the eggs from only one hen? In that case it could be that he doesn't mate her (roos can be selective that way, or she doesn't allow him), or that there's something wrong with her equipment.

 

[nebulathechicken]

It's hard to say about your rooster. I know that my roo had had a respiratory infection about 3 months prior and it may have affected his fertility. If you want to set another clutch to test your theory, you have nothing to lose, right? In my case, I decided to get hatching eggs from a local breeder because they were available and because it will increase the genetic diversity of my tiny flock.

I’ve seen him mate all the hens, and he can be quite consistent. I agree the only way to see is by trying again, and in the meantime I can look around at local breeders! Thanks for the help

 

[nebulathechicken]

Have you seen your roo mate all the hens? I remember having a huge Brahma roo once, he only mated the hens the first year, then went into retirement. Year 2 all the chicks were from the 2'nd in command roo...
Are the eggs from only one hen? In that case it could be that he doesn't mate her (roos can be selective that way, or she doesn't allow him), or that there's something wrong with her equipment.

He’s mated all the hens, and the eggs were from multiple ladies as well. I think I’ll just keep a close eye on them and see if theirs anything wrong. Thanks for the help!