Proper packaging for shipping eggs?

[dgkatz]

Hi, what is the best/proper way to package eggs for shipping? thanks

 

[TexasVet]

I've tried packaging them 1/2 a dozen ways, and this is what works best:

Get a priority shipping box from the post office.
Put a layer of big-bubble bubble wrap in the bottom.
Roll each egg in a strip of the same bubble wrap, leaving the ends open, and taping the end to keep it from coming undone.
Place the eggs end-to-end in the box. You can have several layers.
Cover the top with another piece of bubble wrap and close the box.

I've had nearly 100% success with this method. Placing them in egg cartons and such gives them something to bump against, which is what breaks them. Trust me!

Kathy in Texas
www.CountryChickens.com

PS: You can see pictures of this method here... http://www.eggbid.com/help/packeggs.cfm

 

[Akane]

I line the bottom of the box with crumpled paper or newspaper. It doesn't pack like shredded materials and gives a wider cushion than just a layer of bubble wrap. Top with shredded paper to fill in the holes. Roll each egg up in bubble wrap, tape the middle, and then tape the ends off. Wedge these into cartons. The corners of the folded bubble wrap will stick out providing extra cushion and only making them more secure the more you shove them down in. Fill the gaps with shredded paper and close. Cut any annoying bits of shredded paper that stick out. Wrap the entire carton in 1 or 2 layers of bubble wrap. Wrap duct tape around it. Set the carton on top of the paper layer and add crumpled paper around it until it can't shift to any side. Fill with shredded paper. Do the same to the top until the box is bulging. Push the top down and tape well. I run a strip across the seam and then tape the side of each flap.

I have seen people who just pack the eggs in tightly from one end to the other leaving no gaps and wrapping everything well in bubble wrap. This can work if your sending enough eggs, using a small enough box, or have a heck of a lot of bubble wrap to pad with. However you package them the goal is to keep the eggs from moving in the box. That includes both moving around in their wrapping and the whole thing, wrapping and all, moving around the box. You want things tight. You also don't want any chance of direct egg to egg contact. Work from the inside out. Keep them from moving inside the tray, carton, or bubble wrap layers. Then keep the entire tray, carton, or individually wrapped eggs from moving around in the box. It does no good to pad the box if the eggs can move around inside your wrapping. If I individually wrap I usually then wrap all the loose eggs together in one piece of bubble wrap so they are a solid mass and less likely to slip past the padding in the box.

I got a box from someone where the eggs were in a tray and then wrapped up in bubble wrap with no other inside padding. The wrapping was not tight enough to keep the eggs in place so they slipped out of the tray and tapped each other resulting in all eggs at that end getting cracked. They claimed they dropped the box off a building and despite having the corners smashed the eggs were fine. They probably were that time. It was a one directional impact so the eggs likely stayed in their packaging and were padded well enough into the center of the box. However boxes aren't dropped once in one direction when shipping. They are jarred and wiggled every which way. If your eggs are not individually wrapped or very tightly held in place they will wiggle lose and bang in to each other no matter how well you have padded the carton or tray. That's why I say to work from the inside out. No movement inside the tray or carton before you go on to padding the actual box.

Worst box of eggs I've gotten so far was eggs individually wrapped in bubble wrap and then stuck loose in the box with packaging peanuts. There were a lot of packaging peanuts to make the box nearly bulge and everything may have seemed tight but the small peanuts and eggs do shift around each other. While none were broken that little extra bit of shifting was enough to result in nearly all scrambled yolks and not a single egg developing. That's why I also wrap or tape individual eggs together if I'm not putting them in a carton or tray.