How risky is buying hatching eggs this time of year?

[Hholly]

So, It's COLD outside. But I want to try hatching some chicks. Is it realistic that if I order hatching eggs, this time of year, that any would survive?
Also, what should i look for in a seller to have the best chance of healthy chicks?
Thanks for any advice/info.

 

[crank]

*Update* I figure I would do another update now before I forget  . Out of 24 eggs 3 were removed for being clear and 5 more for Blood rings. So, only 16 eggs are left in the incubator. 

 

[kfelton0002]

I look forward to see how your hatch goes. A bunch of mine, around 33%, had saddle air cells. All 7 of them hatched and are doing good.

My BCM actually started hatching today, so a few are running ahead of schedule. Two have completely hatched without incident and I have 4 more pips in the incubator as we speak. They aren't due until tomorrow. I also just set some French Cuckoo Marans eggs today I purchased from ebay. I have to say I may be hooked on shipped eggs. As long as I get around a 50% hatch I will be happy as a clam and it will be money well spent.

The key honestly is trying to find eggs as close to your home state as possible to decrease the distance the eggs have to travel. My FCM came out of South Carolina and I received them within 24 hours from the time they were shipped to the time we picked them up at our post office. It was expedited priority shipping and probably the fastest shipment bar none I have ever received! The lows the night they were in transit were in the 20's so I'm keeping my fingers crossed they didn't get too cold. I like to look for sellers in the south since the temps in southern states are warmer for the most part. The eggs won't be exposed to as low of temps as opposed to if they were coming from the north. Try to buy during time periods when your lows are above freezing, and also look at the weather and temps in the state the eggs are coming from. I bought my BCM from a seller in Texas in December and most of them were good. The air cells in my FCM eggs look perfect and as long as they weren't damaged by the cold or scrambled during shipment I should get a few chicks from them. Hopefully!

Someone should probably start a support group right about now. We will call it hatchaholics anonymous. lol

 

[urbanroo1]

Well anytime you buy shipped eggs is risky. it's like gambling, you never know what's going to happen. And it's even riskier if you buy during the winter,so the odds are almost impossible to tell.

 

[MicroMaverick]

I've read that fertility goes way down when the shipped eggs get cold. Is this from being on the truck, because I'd assume the post offices would be heated. Or is egg fertility in general less because of the cold weather?

 

[Percheron chick]

You also have the chance of the eggs freezing.

 

[JetCat]

i know many won't agree but........... as long as the egg doesn't freeze it'll be fine temp wise. with extremely low temps the chances of freezing are far greater then they are as of today (looking at the current US temp map)

the eggs will hold in some heat because of their mass, the padding in the shipping box will insulate that helping to hold temps for longer periods and then when/if the package is placed in an unheated environment (back of a trailer for transport) the mass of all the other boxes helps keep the temp above what the outside temperature is and it will take many hours before the temp inside the box equalizes with the outside temp.

 

[Hholly]

Thanks for the opinions everyone. I was interested in raising some chicks this winter and wondered about the hatching eggs since there seem to be plenty for sale right now on Ebay and elsewhere. I realize there are never guarantees on any shipped eggs. Just wondered if there was a significant risk of low/no hatch on shipped eggs during the cold months compared to other times of year.
@JetCat, You make a lot of sense.
Thanks all!

 

[crank]

I ordered 24 hatching eggs and they just shipped today. They are being shipped from Ohio and I am in Utah. I imagine I will be getting them Friday, because of the Thanksgiving holiday. Like others have said it is a gamble with numerous independent and unknown variables. However, that is part of the experience. We'll see how this hatch works out

 

[Hholly]

I ordered 24 hatching eggs and they just shipped today. They are being shipped from Ohio and I am in Utah. I imagine I will be getting them Friday, because of the Thanksgiving holiday. Like others have said it is a gamble with numerous independent and unknown variables. However, that is part of the experience. We'll see how this hatch works out

Good luck! Let us know how they do, will ya?