How to tell if eggs are fertilized?

[bharminder]

Hi lately I've been getting eggs from a local farmer. Some of the eggs have a orange color in the yolk.

The eggs are labeled as fertilized on their website, but how can I tell personally if the egg is fertilized or not? I read and saw pictures online about the white spot on the yolk is more circular and bigger, and looks like a bulls eye with a lighter circle around the white circle. . . and the unfertilized egg is less circular and smaller. On the pictures I can see the differences easily, but when I try to check if these eggs are fertilized..it's less easy for me to distinguish it. Plus I'm not sure if some are fertilized and maybe some aren't. Is that natural for some eggs to be unfertilized, even if there is a rooster around the egg laying hens?

[goodsamaritan]

Try raising your own chickens or ducks.

In my experience, ducks are hard to fake at laying eggs and need male ducks.

You can also try incubating them and see how many hatch.

[bharminder]

Try raising your own chickens or ducks.

In my experience, ducks are hard to fake at laying eggs and need male ducks.

You can also try incubating them and see how many hatch.

I would raise them myself but i can't living in the suburbs, probably law ordinances against it or something.

They have been refrigerated so I don't think they would hatch after being cold stored in a fridge.

[goodsamaritan]

I would raise them myself but i can't living in the suburbs, probably law ordinances against it or something.

They have been refrigerated so I don't think they would hatch after being cold stored in a fridge.

If you can consume your eggs in less than 2 weeks, you can safely not refrigerate them.

[bharminder]

If you can consume your eggs in less than 2 weeks, you can safely not refrigerate them.

Yeah, when I get them though they have already been refrigerated

[bharminder]

Here are pics of 2 different eggs. Are either of the fertilized? They are supposed to be.

Also, I know that properly raised hens (in terms of diet ), should have deeper more orange colored yolks. I see this with only some of the eggs, other eggs (from the same source) seem more pale than even commercial eggs that are non organic. Is this natural variation healthy and can a pale colored yolk still be a healthy egg?

[eveheart]

If a rooster is kept with the laying hens, then I would consider the eggs likely to be fertilized.

If you were planning to hatch chicks, you would check the eggs.in front of a bright light (called candling) after a few days of incubation, to see if you can see the beginning of the umbilicus. The shell does not get cracked.

You can't do this if the egg has been gathered for sale - room temperature or refrigeration stops the growth process.

Yolk color and flavor are better with healthy hens, but there are still variations depending on breed, feed, etc.

I live in the city, but I have an egg lady who sells her own eggs. I've visited her little farm, about 20 miles from where I live. She commutes to the city, so I arrange to pick up my eggs here. I found her because she advertised on craigslist.

[bharminder]

Well, the website from the farmer lists the eggs as " free ranged and pastured, and fertile"
So I'm guessing if I ask the farmer they will tell me that the eggs are fertile. I don't want to ask them too many questions because, I've asked many questions, and this one lady who does the deliveries told me if I kept asking her questions she would stop selling me her animal products. I didn't even ask that many questions, but I'd rather keep her a source to get food than lose out on it, even though that's pretty messed up.
but the website lists the eggs as fertile, so asking the farmer probably isn't going to get me anywhere. i was wondering if theres a way to find out from the egg itself. reading online i read about some visual techniques to utilize to distinguish a fertilized egg from a non fertilized one.. . but i find the pictures online to be much more distinct than some of the eggs i've come across.

[actup]

If the yolk has a visible white dot, it is fertilized.
Yes, you have good eggs from this view.

[bharminder]

I have read online that even unfertilized eggs have white dots, just smaller, more solid ones.

But i even read some reports online of eggs looking fertilized with the white ring, bullseye, and there was no rooster in site....

[Coatue]

Anybody know how to go about finding fertilized pastured eggs?

[Iguana]

Here, at my home-place!

[Coatue]

Here, at my home-place!

Unfortunately  I am not going to France anytime soon though I lived right next door last year in Freiburg, Germany.

[eveheart]

Anybody know how to go about finding fertilized pastured eggs?

I'm living in urban California, and I find good eggs for sale in health food stores, on craigslist and at farmer's markets. When I was living in rural areas, I asked around or looked for signs on mailboxes ("Eggs for Sale"). If you have a CSA (community-supported agriculture) in your area, you can ask the farmer if they know where to get eggs.

Basically, what I look for is a yard with hens running around, plus a rooster.