You have probably seen viral videos on social media of folks cracking store-bought eggs and finding live chicks. But is this even possible?
Generally, store-bought eggs cannot hatch because they are unfertilized. Most egg farms that supply their produce to local stores raise only female flocks with no roosters. This implies all eggs that end up in the store, whether from quail, duck, or chickens, cannot hatch.
If you want to learn more about why you most likely cannot hatch store-bought eggs, read on!
Why Won’t Store-Bought Eggs Hatch?
When you crack open a store-bought egg, you’ll notice that it lacks a blastoderm. This perfectly round white mark on the yolk signifies an egg is fertile or fertilized. Instead, store-bought eggs have a blastodisc-a white mark that is generally smaller with an awkward shape.
A simpler way to tell if an egg is fertilized without cracking it open is through the candling technique. You’ll need a candling lamp or any strong light source like a touch. Hold the blunt end of the egg above or below the light to observe the embryo. If you don’t see a dark spot that moves within 40 seconds after exposure to light, your egg is likely unfertilized.
For an egg to be fertilized and capable of hatching, the hen must mate with a rooster. Because roosters are raised for meat and are not required for hens to lay eggs, commercial chicken farms typically keep them isolated from the female flocks.
Most egg farms won’t even raise roosters because they are likely to be a nuisance. With the absence of roosters, eggs supplied to local stores lack the genetic structure to form embryos or hatch.
What Are the Chances of Hatching a Store-Bought Egg?
There have been a few cases of store-bought eggs being successfully incubated and hatched. Again, this is quite rare and unlikely but not impossible. While unusual, there is always a slim chance of a rooster straying into the hen wire cages, leading to the production of a fertilized egg.
Odd sexing errors can also happen with flocks of quail and duck, but not chicken.
It’s crucial to understand that hens in commercial chicken farms are explicitly raised for hatching eggs. Even if an egg ends up fertilized, there is no guarantee that it can hatch.
Furthermore, the freshness of an egg plays a crucial role in determining whether it can develop an embryo. Store-bought eggs are typically refrigerated, reducing the odds of even a fertilized egg hatching a chick. Even if the egg hatched, the chick would probably not be as vigorous.
The straight answer is that you will likely never crack open a store-bought egg only for a chick to fall out. If an egg is store-bought, there’s almost zero chance of it being fertilized. Even if it is, it was likely not exposed to the right conditions to allow hatching.
Final Thoughts
Claims of store-bought eggs hatching are not unheard of. However, they are pretty rare first because egg farms supply unfertilized eggs. Secondly, even a fertile egg won’t hatch independently without incubation. There’s also the fact that these eggs are often refrigerated to keep them fresh.
So, what if you badly want to hatch a chick?
If you have big poultry farming dreams, consider buying your eggs from hatcheries specializing in producing fertile or fertilized eggs. You’ll also need an incubator, plenty of skills to incubate eggs, and significant amounts of patience. Under the right conditions, a fertilized egg can hatch after around 21 days.
Featured Image Credit: monicore, Pixabay
