In natural settings, chicken egg fertilization when a rooster mates with a hen. Afterwards, the hen lays fertilized eggs that can be incubated and hatched. However, chicken egg fertilization can also be done artificially.
The fertilization of chicken eggs is an important process in poultry breeding. Without it, you cannot hatch new chicks and expand your flock. Nowadays, artificial insemination is the preferred method for selective poultry breeding.
Also see our comparison of natural vs artificial chicken egg fertilization.
What is chicken egg fertilization
Poultry birds have a unique reproductive system. Although the incubation of an egg happens outside a hen, the fertilization process takes place in its oviduct.
Chicken egg fertilization is basically the process through which a rooster’s semen is deposited into a hen’s oviduct. After the semen has been deposited into the oviduct, the sperm fertilizes an egg as it moves through the oviduct.
For optimal outcomes, incubate a fertilized egg within 7 – 10 days since it was laid.
How to tell if an egg is fertilized
From the outside, you cannot detect any differences between a fertilized and unfertilized chicken egg.
Candling eggs
Egg candling is one way by which you can find out whether an egg is fertilized or not, without breaking it. Moreover, candling is a simple and inexpensive way to do so.
Essentially, egg candling involves you shinning a light through an egg. Firstly, candling enables you to see any irregularities or deformities in an egg. If you are incubating eggs, candling them a few days into incubation enables you to easily tell fertilized ones apart.
Notably, you will observe a network of blood vessels and embryo formation in a fertile egg. On the other hand, an unfertilized egg will appear clear.
There are a number of egg incubation apps you can use to track the process.
Breaking an egg
Breaking an egg is another way through which you can tell if an egg is fertile or not. However, when you break an egg, you render it unusable for incubation. Nonetheless, once you’ve broken it, you can note certain visual markers of fertilization.
Once you’ve broken an egg out of its shell, you will see a bullseye on its yolk if its fertile. A bullseye is basically the ring around the egg’s white dot.
How chicken egg fertilization happens
There are at least two ways through which you can obtain fertilized poultry eggs. Namely: naturally, through poultry making and secondly, through artificial insemination. Below is a brief look at each.
1. Poultry mating
Chicken egg fertilization in natural settings happens when a rooster mates with a hen and deposits semen into the hen’s oviduct.
Poultry mating is a whole topic but itself. In a nutshell, a rooster approaches a hen while making mating sounds and exhibiting mating behavior such as spreading its wings. A receptive hen squats down and allows the rooster to mount her, after which the rooster quickly deposits sperm.
Read more about poultry reproduction for more details.
2. Artificial insemination
Artificial insemination is the other option for fertilizing poultry eggs. Essentially, this involves the extraction of sperm from a rooster and its deposition into a hen.
Since artificial insemination is a delicate process, you should do it with proper training and tools to ensure success.
First, you collect sperm from a rooster using a special syringe. Secondly, deposit the sperm into the hen. Importantly, you should carry out the process under specific conditions as prescribed by your poultry vet.
Nutritional value of fertilized chicken eggs
You can cook and consume fertilized chicken eggs.
Although, you may think that fertilized eggs are more nutritious than unfertilized eggs, there is no difference between the two. The taste and flavor of fertilized and unfertilized eggs are similar.
You may also be interested in 19 Eggshell quality problems and their causes.