Road trip.

[gabtrac]

Advice please!
I'm planning on driving across country in early September (next week) and I'm hoping to pick up some hard-to-get fertilized eggs from a farm along my route.
They will be with me in the car for about 6-7 days before I get them home and into the incubator.
So, I'm looking for advice on how best to keep them viable for the trip.
One thing I was wondering, should I keep the carton in a very loose plastic bag with a damp towel for humidity...?
Thank you in advance for your collective wisdom!

 

[Debbie292d]

Advice please!
I'm planning on driving across country in early September (next week) and I'm hoping to pick up some hard-to-get fertilized eggs from a farm along my route.
They will be with me in the car for about 6-7 days before I get them home and into the incubator.
So, I'm looking for advice on how best to keep them viable for the trip.
One thing I was wondering, should I keep the carton in a very loose plastic bag with a damp towel for humidity...?
Thank you in advance for your collective wisdom!

Keeping fertilized eggs in a car for nearly a week while you're traveling sounds strange but okay, you had to do what you had to do.

First, you'd want the egg to be like what a nest has. No added humidity.

I store eggs before hatching in my basement, where it's cooler, and tip one end of the carton up one day, and the other end the next.

I wonder if you shouldn't put them in a cooler to maintain a more steady temperature. I would rotate them once a day at least.

You'd also want them layered from each other with something to protect each egg from hitting another one should there be a bump. Maybe set this cooler or whatever you use on a thick folded-up quilt that would act like a small mattress to help keep the container steady. I have tons flour sack towels and I'd cut those up and wrap each egg with a couple of them and tape the edges with duct tape.

 

[gabtrac]

Yes a bit strange, but I should mention, the trip isn't specifically to pick up the eggs. It was an opportunity that came up.
A dedicated cooler - ok thanks.
What sort of temp should I shoot for?

 

[Saveria]

You definitely want to pad and cushion them. The up and down of the car can make them nonviable, but some must make it if they send them in the mail. Maybe you want 2 dz just in case.

Yes a bit strange, but I should mention, the trip isn't specifically to pick up the eggs. It was an opportunity that came up. Thanks.

I could easily think up 10 way weirder things in the chicken world alone, so no worries. Maybe the eggs will hatch better than if they got shipped because you will be more careful with them, too.

 

[Debbie292d]

Yes a bit strange, but I should mention, the trip isn't specifically to pick up the eggs. It was an opportunity that came up.
A dedicated cooler - ok thanks.
What sort of temp should I shoot for?

They recommend storing fertile eggs at 55F to 65F. Much higher or lower could start messing with abnormalities or morbidity. I have also stored fertile eggs in the fridge for a week or two, but those are my eggs. I would never do that with purchased eggs.

 

[Debbie292d]

You definitely want to pad and cushion them. The up and down of the car can make them nonviable, but some must make it if they send them in the mail. Maybe you want 2 dz just in case.

I could easily think up 10 way weirder things in the chicken world alone, so no worries. Maybe the eggs will hatch better than if they got shipped because you will be more careful with them, too.

Buying extras is definitely a smart idea! OP said "hard to get" so maybe they are too pricey though. I have hatched shipped eggs from eBay three times with about average of 65-70% hatch rate. That's only two days though of God knows what they went through.