Re: I don't like fertile eggs

[Guest guest]

I don't know if fertile eggs are healthier (some people think they

are but I'm not sure why) but I've never noticed a difference in

taste. Have all the fertile eggs you've eaten been from the same

source? I've had chickens for years, and have kept them both

with and without a rooster. The eggs don't taste any different to

me either way, and they don't seem to go bad faster when they're

fertile - in fact, I've never had a home-grown egg go bad,

off-tasting or off-smelling, and have kept them for several

months in the frig. I collect them every day and put them in the

frig immediately, if fertile eggs weren't collected daily or stored

cold I can see how that could affect the taste, if the egg started to

develop. So, I'd say that unless the fertile eggs you've eaten

have been from a variety of sources and you're sure about how

they were stored, don't discount getting a rooster. My hens seem

happier with a rooster around, without one they're more on edge.

I don't think it's just a sex thing, it's the rooster's job to be vigilant

for predators and sound the alarm, among other things, and

without a rooster the hens seem more nervous.

Aubin

But I

> have eaten quite a few fertile eggs before. They taste slightly

> rubbery and altogether off-tasting. They don't store as well

either

> (they go bad quicker).

[Guest guest]

In a message dated 11/25/02 6:25:17 PM Eastern Standard Time,

aubinparrish@... writes:

> I'm not

> sure I could bring myself to eat a partially-developed egg. I know

> it's not logical, I eat eggs and I eat chicken meat, but to crack

> open an egg and find eyes would gross me out.

Heh, try eating a raw freshly-cracked oyster, knowing it's _alive_ when

you're eating it! Thankfully when I first tried this I poked it and it

didn't respond. lol

chris

____

" What can one say of a soul, of a heart, filled with compassion? It is a

heart which burns with love for every creature: for human beings, birds, and

animals, for serpents and for demons. The thought of them and the sight of

them make the tears of the saint flow. And this immense and intense

compassion, which flows from the heart of the saints, makes them unable to

bear the sight of the smallest, most insignificant wound in any creature.

Thus they pray ceaselessly, with tears, even for animals, for enemies of the

truth, and for those who do them wrong. "

--Saint Isaac the Syrian

[Guest guest]

They were from one source, and some of them were " developed. " I could

literally see two large black eyes in almost all of the eggs, and in

some eggs I could see arms and legs. I guess you're right, they must

have not been put in the fridge soon enough. Thanks for the

encouragement with a rooster! I think I will get one after all...

(when I get chickens)

I collect them every day and put them in the

> frig immediately, if fertile eggs weren't collected daily or stored

> cold I can see how that could affect the taste, if the egg started

to

> develop. So, I'd say that unless the fertile eggs you've eaten

> have been from a variety of sources and you're sure about how

> they were stored, don't discount getting a rooster. My hens seem

> happier with a rooster around, without one they're more on edge.

> I don't think it's just a sex thing, it's the rooster's job to be

vigilant

> for predators and sound the alarm, among other things, and

> without a rooster the hens seem more nervous.

[Guest guest]

> They were from one source, and some of them were

" developed. " I could

> literally see two large black eyes in almost all of the eggs, and

in

> some eggs I could see arms and legs.

Yikes! I'm not sure of the exact timeframe of chick development,

but it would take at least several days for anything recognizable

to develop (the incubation is approx. 21 days total, IIRC), and the

eggs would have to be under a hen during that time as well.

Fertile eggs collected daily or not being tended by a hen will

appear indistinguishable from non-fertile eggs, as they will not

have started to develop, so you needn't worry about yours if you

collect every day or only have non-broody breeds (some breeds

are broody and some aren't, the ones who aren't won't set on the

eggs). There's a specific name for eggs that have

partially-formed chicks in them, there was a discussion here

some time ago about them, I don't remember the name. I'm not

sure I could bring myself to eat a partially-developed egg. I know

it's not logical, I eat eggs and I eat chicken meat, but to crack

open an egg and find eyes would gross me out.

That said, some roosters are a royal pain in the tuckus.

Occasionally they'll get aggressive, and be too rough on the

hens or attack people, even in breeds that are supposed to be

gentle and docile (we had one Black Australorps rooster that

was demon spawn). However, most are tolerable, and some

are even nice.

Aubin

[Guest guest]

--- In @y..., " aubinparrish " <aubinparrish@y...>

> Yikes! I'm not sure of the exact timeframe of chick development,

> but it would take at least several days for anything recognizable

> to develop (the incubation is approx. 21 days total, IIRC), and the

> eggs would have to be under a hen during that time as well.

>

My memory is that chick embryos at ten days look just right for a

Barbie doll Thanksgiving turkey.

(I never tried to eat one.)