Refrigerator eggs

So I set 20 eggs from my fridge that had been in there from over 2 weeks to a few days. These eggs were in the door in the egg cartons some were pointy end up some were down. I candled them about 30 minutes ago they're set to hatch on the 16th. Out of 20 eggs set 3 were not fertile at all and yeah I dropped one that had a chick in it. I have another post about that called dropped an egg. Anyway if anyone was ever wondering or guessing if it works to do this way yea it does it works great. My eggs are a cross between heritage Rhode Island Red and Easter egger rooster my other eggs are Easter egger rooster and French black copper maran.

cmobley said:

So I set 20 eggs from my fridge that had been in there from over 2 weeks to a few days. These eggs were in the door in the egg cartons some were pointy end up some were down. I candled them about 30 minutes ago they're set to hatch on the 16th. Out of 20 eggs set 3 were not fertile at all and yeah I dropped one that had a chick in it. I have another post about that called dropped an egg. Anyway if anyone was ever wondering or guessing if it works to do this way yea it does it works great. My eggs are a cross between heritage Rhode Island Red and Easter egger rooster my other eggs are Easter egger rooster and French black copper maran.

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What is the chicks' health like after hatching?
Were some stronger than others?

Our DD is doing a similar experiment for her sci fair project. (trying to hatch store, farmer's market, & backyard eggs and compare hatch rates) We know that light refrigeration is OK (hatched a chicken named Omelet - I'm sure you can guess how she came to be.) What I'm surprised with so far is that the farmer's market eggs (washed in water, put in fridge, & driven around) are developing. I figured she's get a few, but so far it's more than half. It's winter up here, so I'm actually hoping for a lighter hatch. Chick dust in the living room during the holidays won't be fun. About a doz chicken eggs & 30 quail eggs were set.

These are set to hatch this Wednesday but as of last night the 16 that's left in the bator are all kicking and moving nicely in their shells.

cmobley said:

These are set to hatch this Wednesday but as of last night the 16 that's left in the bator are all kicking and moving nicely in their shells.

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EGG-citing! Please keep me updated.

So out of 20 eggs I set 3 were not fertile I dropped one when candling it had a chick in it. And out of the 16 eggs left 15 hatched and are all doing great. The one that didn't hatch was fully developed but i do think that egg sat pointy end up in the fridge the longest. All of my maran/Easter egger chicks came out black one has white wing tips. All of my Rhode Island Red/ Easter egger chicks came out yellow and striped like a Easter egger chick.

Congrats!!!! I would not have expected so many to hatch. Hopefully DD's experiment will have similar results.

Your chicks are cute. BTW- What did you put on the brooder floor? Some type of towel?

DD's quail are due next Tues & the chickens Wed-Thurs. She has off from school, so it should a fun activity during break.

Yeah that'll be exciting to see em hatching. I use pig pads on my brooder floor. We use them at work to soak up liquids and spills about the same as the puppy pee pads. It keeps the chicks from kicking shavings all in their water and feed and you just roll em up and toss em and lay in 2 new ones for clean up. I've used sand before also it was ok but also filled up the water bowl.

cmobley said:

Yeah that'll be exciting to see em hatching. I use pig pads on my brooder floor. We use them at work to soak up liquids and spills about the same as the puppy pee pads. It keeps the chicks from kicking shavings all in their water and feed and you just roll em up and toss em and lay in 2 new ones for clean up. I've used sand before also it was ok but also filled up the water bowl.

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That's a neat idea. My sister's Yorkie uses those pee pads. Do you know if there's anything harmful (like odor control chemicals) in the doggie pads? I've always used paper towels for the 1st couple days & then switch over to large flake hardwood shavings once I'm sure all the chicks know what food is. The more absorbent pads may save me a little extra work.

I normally set up a big Pack N Play brooder, but with both quail & chicks hatching, we'll probably have 2 plastic totes instead. This year I also experimented with making a "Mama Heating Pad" instead of the usual heat lamp. It worked out so much better than I had planned! I then had to make a spare when I had 2 hatches only a week apart. Thankfully I have 2 now, so setting up 2 brooders won't be so bad.



Chicks can go on or under to warm up. Just like a real broody hen.

Below: The support frame with adjustable legs. I kept raising it higher as they grew.


Here's where I got the idea:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/956958/mama-heating-pad-in-the-brooder-picture-heavy-update

Faraday40 said:

<Snip!> This year I also experimented with making a "Mama Heating Pad" instead of the usual heat lamp. It worked out so much better than I had planned! I then had to make a spare when I had 2 hatches only a week apart. Thankfully I have 2 now, so setting up 2 brooders won't be so bad.



Chicks can go on or under to warm up. Just like a real broody hen.

Below: The support frame with adjustable legs. I kept raising it higher as they grew.


Here's where I got the idea:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/956958/mama-heating-pad-in-the-brooder-picture-heavy-update

Click to expand...

+1 on the MHP
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/...ooder-picture-heavy-update/5450#post_16850903