How are chicken eggs fertilized?

Since eggs are such a well-loved kind of food, it is no wonder people express some concern about the kind of egg they are eating. One of these concerns is whether the eggs they got from the supermarket are fertilized chicken eggs or not. But wait, aren't all eggs supposed to be fertilized in the first place? read more

If you crack the egg open, you can also see some differences between fertilized and unfertilized eggs. You can see the white circle present in the egg yolk is more defined in fertilized chicken eggs than in their unfertilized counterparts. You can also see small red lines running along the surface of the egg yolk. read more

Regardless, the average consumer buying a carton of eggs at the store or farmers market can’t tell the difference between a fertilized egg and an unfertilized egg from outside the shell. read more

A fertile egg looks and tastes exactly like a non-fertile egg except for the small white bulls eye on the yolk. As the photo below depicts, an unfertilized egg will have a white spot, but it will be without the concentric bulls eye rings. read more

Chickens — like other birds — lay fertilized eggs via sexual reproduction. Depending on the breed of chicken, a hen will begin laying eggs between five and seven months of age. The frequency of egg-laying varies between breeds, over different seasons, with moulting and with age, but most breeds that are used for egg production will lay an egg every one to two days. read more

Eggs with irregularities never make it to retail and are destroyed (except for that one time). Nutritionally, says Cobey, fertilized and unfertilized eggs are the same. They also taste the same, says Kathy Shea Mormino in her “Facts & Myths About Fertile Eggs” article on her blog, The Chicken Chick. read more