Will my eggs always be fertile?

[Danny1234]

I have 2 pullets and 2 cockerels. There all still pretty young to start mating and egg laying but when the pullets do, will they always have fertilised eggs. We'd love to have chicks but we're hoping to at least eat some of the eggs.

 

[emma p]

They will always be fertile, but it doesn't matter you can still eat them.

 

[MamaDoodle]

Hmm, I did not know they'd all be fertilized, but oh well. I eat mine almost daily and noticed nothing but tasty breakfast!

 

[cafarmgirl]

As long as you collect the eggs every day it doesn't matter if they are fertile. If the incubation process never starts then nothing ever starts growing in the egg.

With two roo's and only two hens however, your hens are going to get way to much attention from the roos. I'd get it down to one roo and even then get some more hens if you can. With only two hens you are likely going to need to get them some chicken saddles to protect their back's once they are mature enough to start mating or they are going to have bare backs and scratched up sides pretty quickly. I have one rooster with 11 hens and I still have a few with thin feathers on their backs from him.

 

[Peplers chicks]

Nothing wrong with a fetilized egg,

 

[bugglesmommy]

A hen can store the roosters genetic material for a little over a month after mating. With only 2 pullets to 2 cockerels, I doubt you'll see many infertile eggs. You are more likely to see bald backed hens from over-mating. I highly suggest getting more hens, or rehoming the roosters. The hens could become injured and stressed. Stressed hens do not lay as well.

Back to the topic at hand, fertilized eggs do not taste any different and do not have any nutritional difference.There is no embryo in the egg until it is incubated.

 

[Danny1234]

Thanks for all the replies. The pullets actually just arrived 2 weeks ago when we found out that the two chicks we raised together turned out to be both cockerels! So as the cockerels were raised from birth getting rid of them is not an option and i think i'll just put a saddle on them when they're mature.