HOW BEST TO PACKAGE EGGS FOR SHIPPING DO"S AND DON"TS

[knjinnm]

Please post the results of the hatch rate of the eggs.

 

[RainForestBird]

I will!

 

[southernhusky]

This thread is older I know, but I read all the way through it, and I too must know how these eggs hatched that were shipped in bubble wrap and then plastic Easter eggs with air holes. Very creative way, got my curiousity going.

I will!

 

[333113]

I agree with the instructions to send in small bubblewrap with the bubble side toward the egg and air sac up, in a large package sent with "Special Handling Instructions-Fragile-This Side Up" through the USPS. This does still work the best, in my experience.

However, I am _not_ going to remove my disclaimer, as brahmapapa notes. "Anyone who has shopped the hatching egg auctions is accustomed to reading the disclaimers of sellers that once the eggs leave thier hands they are no longer responsable, claiming that there are a wealth of reasons that eggs do not hatch including bad handling by the USPS, less than ideal incubating tecniques etc."

I am old enough to remember when my dad ordered hatching eggs through the mail and no matter how they were packed EVERY ONE HATCHED. They were just labeled "Hatching Eggs" and _everyone_ along the route knew what to do, including the one who packaged the eggs and the one who received the eggs. Those days are gone.

The best possible situation is one where the egg is taken as soon as it has been laid, it is already clean, and put into big box with enough air and immobilization and protection from bumps, kept cool (50-60 degrees), shipped gently to the destination, then put directly into the incubator to warm up slowly to proper incubation temperature. This egg has an excellent chance to hatch.

That being said, there is a lot of room for error and still end up with good hatches.

If you are looking at this problem as a sender, and you want to send the best possible eggs, then you have a lot of things you can do to improve hatch chances.
1. Keep the hen in a clean environment, including her nest. If she can walk in mud or water she will transfer that to the eggs. You can't prevent the occasional poopy egg (both use the same chute), but you can make sure most of the eggs are clean when laid.
2. Gather the eggs several times a day, to make sure you are getting them before they have a chance to get dirty or damaged.
3. Keep the eggs in a cool environment. My little egg fridge is set to 58-60 degrees.
4. Keep the eggs in a moist but not wet environment. My little egg fridge has a damp sponge at the bottom. You don't want the eggs to lose much moisture before they get to the incubator.
5. Candle the eggs before shipping. The air sac should be small and not bubbled at the edges. Don't send eggs with even a small crack. If the air sac is on the small end of the egg, or the egg is pointy on both ends, or if you can't easily tell which is the larger side, you might not want to send it, either, just because the receiver may not candle the eggs before putting them in the incubator, and may put it in up-side down.
6. Pack the eggs in a box large enough to have four-five inches of padding all around. Make sure the eggs get some air. Bubble wrap works if the bubble side is toward the egg. Excelsior works if the egg is immobilized by it and the area around the excelsior is also padded. Eggs should be set into the box so that all air sacs are in the same direction, because you want to ship the eggs air sac up. Hens don't do it that way, but we are looking for optimal hatch and air sac up will give optimal hatch.
7. Pay the extra money to have insurance, a quick trip, and special shipping instructions for "This Side Up" and "Fragile."

If you are looking at this problem as a receiver of hatching eggs, there are lots of things you can do to to improve hatch chances.
1. Inspect your package of hatching eggs immediately on arrival. Candle your eggs to make sure they are in good shape--air sac small and not bubbled, no cracks, etc. Report any damage to the shipping box or to the eggs immediately to the shipper, and fill out the forms for insurance, if needed.
2. Read and follow all your incubator instructions and have them on hand (printed and next to the incubator) so you don't have to run to the internet or dig through your paperwork if something unexpected happens.
3. Have your incubator clean and warmed up, ready for the eggs, so you can put them from the box directly into the incubator.
4. Candle your eggs to make sure that you are putting them air sac up into the incubator. Remember, hens don't hatch their eggs on end, but we are looking for optimal hatch and air sac up will give optimal hatch.
5. Mark the calendar for 21 days (for chickens), to make sure you know when the eggs will hatch. If that's not a good day, you can probably hold the eggs for a day or two, in a cool, moist area, before starting their incubation. BTW, the fridge is not an optimal holding area because it is usually too cold and too drying.
6. Do not overheat the eggs. Overheating will kill the eggs immediately, while a brief period of cooling off may not. Hens do get up from the nest to eat and drink, so a brief removal of the lid of your incubator to check the eggs or the moisture level will not be harmful.
7. When your eggs hatch, have a warm, draft-free brooder space available immediately for the chicks. They can dry off in the incubator, but they will need to be moved to their baby-home so they can eat and drink.

If I had a suggestion for shippers, it would include the cool and moist environment and gentle handling. I know that airplanes, trucks and holding areas are not always optimal. I suspect that airplanes are a big part of the problem. I can remember when every box of eggs or chicks that arrived in our household was marked, "Ground Shipping."

Good luck to everyone with their shipped eggs!

 

[Wild Pony]

Interesting forum, great reads as well as to what to expect when receiving eggs.

 

[Flowerbh]

How does everyone feel about the following.....I purchased eggs from a breeder, I specifically asked the seller to please mark outside of the box LIVE EMBRYOS. The eggs arrived today, the box was pretty beat up, fortunately the eggs are intact but I wonder how the internal quality of the eggs are. I questioned the seller about not marking the box as I had requested....his answer was I NEVER mark the box and NEVER will, he says the postal workers advised him not to. My big question here is shouldn't the seller have followed my directions and marked the box as I requested, I always request this and this is the first time someone refused, and how liable is the seller for the beat up box of eggs that might never hatch because they were manhandled. Curious to see how others feel. thanks in advance for your imput BTW I paid $53.50 for express delivery in the hopes of getting them as swiftly as possible and in good shape.

I just want to say that we have a friend who works at the post office. He told us that thru the years he has seen postal workers deliberately shake boxes that were labeled 'Embryos' or 'Hatching eggs' or such. He said he thought it best not to draw attention to those boxes by writing such on the side of a box.

 

[cppeace]

Bumping this post as it contains good info. Yep, I'm bringing a zombie post back

 

[sueiris]

Here is my 2 cents.

I bought and sold, mostly bought hatching shipped eggs over the years.
It seems lately I am getting poorer hatches and it is progressive. I do not know if this is due to PO deteriorating service (no question about it with all recent labor and service cuts by USPS) or lousy and careless packaging, even by some "reputable breeders" so to speak.

The only good experience with shipping eggs this winter was eggs I received from Greenfire Farms (60% hatching rate and 100% healthy strong chicks), perhaps a of combination of excellent quality fertile eggs, professional packaging and 1 day express mail (costly but worthy with expensive eggs).

Sorry to say that several shipments of eggs from members of BYC (I will not mention any names) were total disaster, poor packaging, questionable fertility and hatch rate about 0.

So at this point when it comes to serious and pricey breeds, I rather buy pairs, trios, or shipped chicks, than eggs.

The only exception in my book are eggs from Greenfire Farms, I will not hesitate to buy eggs again from Green Fire, unfortunately they do not sell hatching eggs to often.

how did Greenfire ship the eggs? Just curious....