4m x 3m Omlet pen, cube, new auto door still boxed and coop light

[iar fach goch]

please forgive me if this is answered elsewhere but I have been searching for a couple of hours now and oh has just come in to tell me what a bad hen mother I am - forgetting to lock them in for the night! Anyway, back to my question, when I cracked open my eggs tonight at tea time, the white was really thick and quite gelatinous also very cloudy, which oh put down to them being fresh. But all four also had a wriggly (shaped not moving) bit attached to the yolk, but in the white. Does this mean that hens have been visited by cockerel as someone suggested to me? If so how long does this last? ( and if so I want to know who is responsible - and I will not be letting my girls out again unsupervised!!!!!!!) Are they fertile? Are they safe to eat? It was rather off putting for me but oh will eat anything! Have I poisoned him?

[Christian]

Was it the chalazea? This is like a string, that I think keeps the yolk central.

 

Even if you chickens had been visited by a rogue nighttime cockerel, it would take a while for the egg to show any sign of fertilisation (plus the chicken would have to be sitting on it for 23 hours a day for the 'magic' to work).

 

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20070405003944AArK4z1

 

Really fresh eggs do have a more gelatinous white, compared to older shop bought eggs. Perfect for poaching

 

[iar fach goch]

Thanks for the quick reply, yes I think you're right. Why was it really obvious in the eggs and why isn't it so in others I've had, or in shop bought eggs? Is it to do with freshness? Should I remove it or am I just being really squirmish? That was a good link by the way, my knowledge of hen reproduction is now much improved! Many thanks and so glad I haven't poisoned oh, it would be a shame the day before our anniversary!!!

[chickencam]

Our eggs have this and it is perefectly harmeless. If the egg is fresh then it is all edible.