03/19/2026
Borrowed from another breeder and is so true! Wish customers would do some basic research before bashing us đ€Ș
Short version: you canât definitively prove an egg was never fertilized just by looking at it later. No development doesnât mean it wasnât fertilized. In my professional opinion, the most accurate wording that should be used is: âThe egg showed no developmentâ or âThe egg was clear.â
Long version:
Hereâs why:
Fertilized vs. Development
âą A fertilized egg can still fail very earlyâsometimes within the first 24â36 hours.
âą When that happens, the embryo can stop developing before youâd ever see veins, a dark spot, or anything during candling.
âą By the time you check it, it can look identical to an unfertilized egg.
What you can sometimes tell
âą Clearly infertile (unfertilized):
You might see a small, plain germinal disc (blastodisc), but this usually requires cracking the egg open early onânot something you can confirm after incubation. Again, you canât crack an egg after incubation to check this. (This is the bullseye everyone talks about. đŻ)
âą Early death (fertilized but quit):
Sometimes shows as a faint âblood ringâ or very slight cloudinessâbut not always. When the egg fails within the first 24â36 hours, many early losses leave no visible signs.
On that note, not every egg is going to be fertilizedâand thatâs completely normal. Even in a healthy flock with an active rooster, fertility is never 100%. It can be but susceptible to change. Things like diet, stress, timing, and even the rooster himself can all affect whether an egg actually gets fertilized.
Thatâs why in the hatching world we say an egg âshowed no developmentâ rather than assuming it wasnât fertilized. Early on, thereâs no reliable way to tell the difference between an egg that never fertilized and one that started and stopped very early. Either way, itâs just part of the processânot a problem.
Itâs also important to normalize that occasionally youâre going to get a dud in a dozen. That doesnât mean something is wrong, it doesnât mean poor quality, it doesnât mean your breeder sucksâit means youâre working with live animals, not robots. There are so many variables at play, and expecting perfection every single time just isnât realistic in any breeding program.
Noting this matters because expectations matter. When people understand that a less-than-perfect hatch or a âclearâ egg is normal, it helps keep things in perspective and prevents jumping to conclusions that arenât accurate. A couple clears or early quitters in a batch is just part of the processânot a failure.
I feel wording matters (especially when explaining to others) because you canât prove the egg wasnât fertilized. And when stating it wasnât fertilized after incubation, youâre making an assumption that isnât completely accurate.
Saying:
â âIt wasnât fertilizedâ = assumption
â
âIt showed no developmentâ = accurate and honest
In my experience talking with breeders, this is best practice. In the hatching and poultry world, the standard phrasing is: âclearâ or âno developmentââbecause it covers both possibilities:
âą not fertilized
âą fertilized but stopped extremely early
What does this mean for us on our ranch: I crack eggs to check fertility, and I also incubate to check fertility. I believe doing both is important. I can crack eggs and see 100% bullseye đŻ, then incubate that same line and lose 1â2. If that happens, I chalk that up to early quitters (which is a whole other postâdiet, stress, etc. play a huge role in development).
The only way to 100% confirm fertility is to crack the egg prior to incubationâor hatch it and see development. Iâve only had one instance where someone reported a full dud dozen and said the eggs werenât fertilized. At the same time, another client hatched 14/15 from the same collection window. That tells a story about the shipping or incubating process, not the eggs. When I hear someone say âthey werenât fertilized,â I hear inexperience.
Why am I sharing this? Knowledge is power. As a breeder, Iâve been there tooâI used incorrect wording at one point, and Iâm grateful for the mentors who helped me learn and understand the difference....
*Crooked Arrow Ranch*
