How do farmers control whether a chicken lays an eating egg or a reproductive egg and how can they tell which kind is laid?

Question

How do farmers control whether a chicken lays an eating egg or a reproductive egg and how can they tell which kind is laid?

In: Biology

Answer 1

Chickens will lay eggs no matter what. It’s basically a daily chicken period. Only if they are fertilized by a rooster beforehand will they form baby chicks. If you keep chickens away from roosters, all eggs will be eating eggs.

Edit: I know both fertilized and unfertilized eggs can be eaten. OP said eating eggs and reproductive eggs so I stuck with the same terminology assuming they meant how do farmers know what eggs are able to become chicks and which ones won’t.