Well unless an egg gets past a certain temperature the embryo does not start to form. I hatch lots of eggs during the year and sell both hatching eggs, fresh eggs as well as chicks, and on the 8th day when I candle a tray of eggs and they still appear clear, they are culled and go in the house for table fare.......Never yet have we found a chick inside an egg destined for the table.
I have to add, that we do not "ever" refridgerate fresh eggs. They stay on the counter or in a cool place but not the refridgerator. Don't was em either until it comes time to use them, but you have to gather them a few times a day so they do not get soiled. Washing a fresh egg allows bacteria to infiltrate the shell and leads to faster spoiling, so until they get used they do not get washed.
You can tell what color eggs a chicken will lay by the color of its ear tufts/lobes........yes chickens have ear lobes. Mediteranian breeds are all white egg layers and will have white ear lobes, old European are usually all brown egg layers and will have brown or dark lobes. The only exception to this is in South American breeds called Aracaunas or their northern variety called americaunas or just commonly called Easter Eggers, which can lay a dark green, light blue, pink or real light tan colored egg, with the green being the predominant egg color. No matter what color the egg is they all taste the same and have the same level of nbutrients, regardless of what hype you may read on the internet about the easter eggers and brown eggs being higher in protein and lower in chlorestoral.
But unless you have a good ratio of hens to roosters, a rooster is pretty darn hard on a hen and it won't take much time until that hen is ragged looking and bare backed. So unless youy have a need for fertile eggs forget a rooster, as they simply are not needed. NOw if your looking to hatch eggs or let a hen set and hatch the clutchof eggs, yes, then you need the rooster, but just be aware broody hens are not as common today as they used to be, as broodiness seems to have been bred out of them. There are a few breeds that have more of a tendancy to set, but even with those breeds its a guess.
I just have to suggest Black Australops or Buff Orpingtons. Both are in the same family with the Buff being slightly larger. Buffs are supposedly broody types, were Black is questionable. Both of these breeds are some really laid back chickens, very very docile, easy to manage and not huge consumers of feed. The Black Austraulops have the worlds record on laying eggs. Buffs are a bit slower getting to the egg laying stage but once started are real egg machines. Blacks come in a bit earlier, and are superb in egg laying, and being a pound or two lighter consume much less feed as well. Unless you just like having chickens around, don;t feed grains or corn. All it does is make the chickens fat, and a fat chicken will not lay as well. The only time I have corn available for my birds is during the winter. It gets fed only if the temp is expected to fall very low, and then I may throw in some corn in addition to their layer feed, as it gives them a bit more body heat, but if the temps stay above 30 or so deg they do not get corn. Scratch feed is a waste, as chickens are no different than a kid or you and me. Theyw ill pick out what they like and let the rest spoil. Best feed is commercially sold starter grower feed for getting the chickens to size, and then feed them layer pellets. Pellets have much less waste than mash or crumbles do, although crumbles or mash type is what will feed to be fed to young chicks, until they can eat pelleted type feed. 16 to 18 percent protein with added calcium or any complete layer pellet is fine.
Unless you really want an uninterupted supply of eggs, it would be best to have two or ore groups seperated by about 3 months of age, so when one group goes into its molt and stops laying the others are still laying, and if you only have all same age chickens you may find a 2 or 3 month area without any eggs.
Roosters can be one mean critter, and some breeds like Rhode Island Reds can get downright nasty. They can get to a point that they will attack or jump anyone, so if any little children may be around, a rooster may not be a good idea by any means unless its in a pen. When my youngest son was abaout 3 years old he got in amongst the flock of RIR's I had and a big old rooster promptly jumped him, and actually did a dance on my sons head and shoulders spurring a flogging him. So a rooster can be one bad actor.
YOu can let your chickens free range, and train them to return to the coop at night, but once they free range finding eggs may be a chore, and you also risk loosing them to predators. You also run the risk of them scratching up flower beds, gardens, lawns etc so free range may not be the best idea for some folks.
Just this past weekend (Actually thursday evening) I had a hatch of 190 chicks come out. I plan my hatches to come on Thursdays. We have a free advertising magazine that comes out every thursday, and I always place a ad in it for selling chicks. This way it gives folks Thursday evening, Friday and all weekend long to buy chicks, and I do not have to feed them, just keep em warm for up to 3 days, so I have no money invested n brooders and feed etc up to that point. Any that remain unsold are either killed, or placed in a pen and 10 cents added each week until they reach a point where pullets are no longer sold, aas they are kept to replace older birds, or the roosters are killed or put n the deep freeze. I sell off my older birds every 2 or 3 years and replace them all with new stock . ONce the new stock is laying, the elders get sold, usually at an auction where folkls are more than willing to pay from 5 to 7 bucks each for laying hens. They are usually good for 5 years or so, but each year their egg laying decreases, but they eat the same so out they go and in come the new replacement recruits.
This is probably going to be my last year rasiing and selling chickens, eggs and chicks though, as I am going to concentrate on the peafowl and guinea fowl. Guineas around here fetch $15 and up and peafowl routinely bring $30 and up for a young unsexed chick. Guineas keets unsexed bring $5 each, which is a lot better than $1.25 for a unsexed chicken, and the guineas and peas also eat a ot less feed and do not make as much of a mess.
I have 5 dfferent types of peafowl, 12 different colors of guineas, as well as Brown china geese which seem to be a pretty popular animal as well. They make good constant weeders in an established garden, but they do make a mess. I normally let the geese set and hatch their own eggs, and then either keep a few and sell the rest, as its hard to mix chicken and waterfowl eggs in the same incubators as they both have different humidity requirements and young ducks and geese are a real mess to raise up as they are pretty darn sloppy as compared to chickens.
Sorry about the long rant, but chickens are interesting and its nice to watch a hen and her biddies, or just watch the fowl in general. Very relaxing, and those fresh eggs are not even in the same class as store bought eggs are. First cake or omlet you make with them will prove that. Difference is like night and day.
