I have a friend who wants to hatch out some eggs for a school project. I, of course, have eggs.
Question #1. I have 16 hens and one very busy RIR Roo (if you know what I mean). What are the odds that the eggs I collect are fertilized? I've read that I can't know for sure, short of opening the eggs. Would you recommend opening up some of the eggs just to get an idea (I have rose combs, leghorns, a bantam, and some americans, etc.)?
Question #2. How can I tell which of the eggs belong the RIR hens? I know RIR are brown, but I also have some Dominiques so I can't tell which eggs belong to the RIRs. It does seem that the brown eggs are either a darker brown or a faded brown. I'm speculating that the darker are the RIR, but don't really know.
Since the chickens are coming back to me, I'd just as soon have more RIRs not Domineds or Rhodeiques. Any other advice I'd appreciate (short of buying fertilized eggs).
Paul
Question #1. I have 16 hens and one very busy RIR Roo (if you know what I mean). What are the odds that the eggs I collect are fertilized? I've read that I can't know for sure, short of opening the eggs. Would you recommend opening up some of the eggs just to get an idea (I have rose combs, leghorns, a bantam, and some americans, etc.)?
Question #2. How can I tell which of the eggs belong the RIR hens? I know RIR are brown, but I also have some Dominiques so I can't tell which eggs belong to the RIRs. It does seem that the brown eggs are either a darker brown or a faded brown. I'm speculating that the darker are the RIR, but don't really know.
Since the chickens are coming back to me, I'd just as soon have more RIRs not Domineds or Rhodeiques. Any other advice I'd appreciate (short of buying fertilized eggs).
Paul