Will all my eggs be fertile if I keep a rooster with the chicken?

[arianna]

I have few young Bantams for eggs and a rooster. I'm getting eggs from them but I got several eggs that look like they where fertile (had something in it"). I don't want to raise new chicks I just want the eggs. Do I have to remove the rooster or is it ok to eat fertile eggs?

 

[hallerlake]

It's okay to eat fertile eggs. Some cultures even eat them with developed embryos. Personally, I wouldn't want to eat one that was allowed to develop, but if you're gathering and refrigerating them every day, that should not be a problem.

 

[Toril]

A rooster is socially very useful for the group, in my experience. I had two roosters with my previous flock and they very bravely fought off a young hawk! They keep watch over the hens and get them in for the night and out in the morning, tell them where there's food, etc. In return, he gets... well, you know.

And you get fertilized eggs, which are perfectly fine to eat.

 

[gritsar]

Quote:
Agreed. I suspect that the "something" you saw wasn't a result of fertilization at all; more likely the chalaza, the part of the egg that holds the yolk centered:

http://www.bing.com/images/search?q...of_an_egg.svg/483px-Anatomy_of_an_egg.svg.png

To tell whether an egg is fertilized or not, you have to know what you are looking for (the "bullseye") and look real close.

I eat fertile eggs nearly every day, since my rooster is with my hens and a very busy boy.