Will store bought chicken eggs hatch?

Will store bought chicken eggs hatch? - Brown Hen Near White Egg on Nest

I'm a bit scared to try it, because I'm not sure what would be worse--cracking open a rotten egg, or having to figure out what to do with a chick.

So how about it? If I leave chicken eggs out, will they eventually hatch if kept at the right temperature?

EDIT - Sorry for the confusion. I was referring to store bought eggs only.



Best Answer

If you're getting your eggs from a supermarket, they won't hatch. This is the case with eggs you get for eating from almost any source.

Hens lay eggs even if they haven't been, umm, mating with a male. Any egg laid in those circumstances will never hatch because it's unfertilized, and that's the standard practice for any commercial egg operation.

Now if you have a free ranging hen and a rooster too, and they're not kept apart, then yeah, you could get a fertilized egg. And that egg needs to be kept properly warm to hatch.




Pictures about "Will store bought chicken eggs hatch?"

Will store bought chicken eggs hatch? - A Chick And Eggs On A Nest
Will store bought chicken eggs hatch? - kleines schlüpfendes Küken
Will store bought chicken eggs hatch? - A Bird's Nestick With Two Colored Eggs Beside A Chick



Quick Answer about "Will store bought chicken eggs hatch?"

However, it is generally not possible to hatch a chick from an egg purchased from a grocery store. Each year, youth from across Michigan explore the embryonic development of chickens. Youth use modified versions of the embryology lessons from the Beginning of Life, Virginia 4-H School Enrichment Curriculum.



I ACTUALLY Hatched this Chicken from a Grocery Store Egg




More answers regarding will store bought chicken eggs hatch?

Answer 2

Store-bought chicken eggs are usually unfertilized, and so will not hatch under any condition.

Chicken producers do sometimes keep eggs at slightly low temperatures to delay hatching for up to a week, or occasionally longer (for references see R.A. Ernst et al, Common Incubation Problems and R.A. Ernst, Hatching Egg Sanitation), but the lowest recommended temperature is 55 degrees Fahrenheit or 19.8 degrees Celsius. After storage, they're put into an incubator at 99.5 to 100 degrees Farenheight (37.5 to 37.8 Celsius) to hatch them.

The standard refrigerator temperature of around 5 degrees Celsius (about 41 degrees Fahrenheit) is well below the recommended temperatures, so would almost certainly sterilize fertilized eggs.

Answer 3

They won't hatch if they're store bought, because they're unfertilized. Try going to a local farm and look for hens with laid eggs; make sure to ask the farmer if they have mated because if the chicken has mated it will be fertilized.

Sources: Stack Exchange - This article follows the attribution requirements of Stack Exchange and is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

Images: Alison Burrell, ROMAN ODINTSOV, Myriams Fotos, ROMAN ODINTSOV