Whether you want to determine whether a bird's eggs have been fertilized or are just a fad, checking egg fertility is fairly easy to do. In most cases, you can be sure the eggs won't develop into chicks without checking for fertility. Either way, there are several ways to check whether a bird's eggs are infertile or not.
Step
Method 1 of 2: Checking Egg Fertility
Step 1. Candling the egg to see the development of the embryo
If the eggs have been incubated for several days, you can look at the eggs to determine their fertility. Hold the egg against a candle or strong light such as an incubator lamp and observe its contents:
- Fertile eggs have obvious signs of development such as the presence of a network of blood vessels, an opaque embryo at the large end of the egg, and even movement within the egg.
- Eggs whose embryos are no longer developing have a ring or bloodline. Because it is no longer feasible, the blood vessels that support the egg have been ripped out.
- Eggs that are sterile or infertile will appear fairly clear without streaks, rings, or blood vessels.
Step 2. Observe if the egg floats
Usually infertile eggs will float because the volume inside is not large enough to sink. If it contains an embryo, the egg becomes heavier and sinks. Therefore, try the following checks:
- Wait until the bird's eggs are a few days old and the entire embryo has developed. In practice, fertile eggs should only be moved occasionally and not too often. If eggs are removed from the incubator too early, development may stagnate and if it is too late, the chicks inside will be in pain.
- Prepare a bowl of warm water. Make sure you use warm water if the bird's eggs are fertile.
- Carefully place the eggs in the water. Do it gently because some eggs are very fragile.
- Observe whether the egg floats or sinks.
- Return fertile eggs to the incubator as soon as possible.
Step 3. Crack eggs to check fertility
The most accurate way to test the fertility of an egg in its early stages is to open the shell to see what's inside. When it ruptures, you will look at the blastodisc (institutional chip) to see if it has turned into a blastoderm. Of course, do not apply this step if the eggs are planning to breed or incubate. If bird eggs are to be consumed, fertile and infertile eggs have no difference in taste.
- Fertile eggs will have a blastoderm that looks like a target symbol or a white circle. The white color of the blastoderm will appear quite opaque with solid and firm edges. A lighter, almost transparent outer layer will surround the denser dots.
- Infertile eggs will have an oddly shaped blastodisc and a faint, cloudy white color.
- All eggs, both fertile and infertile, will have a white spot or blastodisc.
Method 2 of 2: Confirming Infertile Eggs
Step 1. Separate the male and female birds
In order for the eggs to be fertile, the female bird must mate with the male bird so that the eggs have both male and female genetic material to produce embryos. If you only have a female bird, all the eggs produced are infertile.
- An unfertilized egg or an egg containing only female genetics is called a blastodisc.
- In fertile eggs or have male and female genetics, the blastodisc will become a blastoderm. Blastoderma is also called the first stage of embryonic development.
Step 2. Immediately store the eggs in the refrigerator
Eggs must be kept warm at 30°C in order to develop into embryos. You can inhibit this development by taking eggs from birds and storing them in a cool place or refrigerator.
You need to hurry to do it after the bird lays eggs. The time span is only about a few hours before the embryo forms into the right condition
Step 3. Monitor eggs for 14-21 days
The time it takes for eggs to hatch in incubation varies depending on the bird species. Most lovebird eggs hatch after 2 weeks while chicken eggs take 21 days. If there is no development after this time has elapsed, it is possible that the egg is infertile or the embryo inside dies and stops developing.
