Storing hatching eggs in wine cooler

[Shamo123]

Has anyone done this? I was looking at buying a small fridge and modifying it to allow for a higher temperature to store hatching eggs that i won't be setting in an incubator for a while during the warmer months but then i came across wine coolers/fridges which sound perfect for this use due to their higher temperatures and humidity.

Anyone here use one or anything similar that let's you keep eggs cool but not cold?

 

[Golden Brahma 64]

Yea I’ve used one before. But dew to a bad incubator at the time I chose to use broody Hens now. They are the best after all !
The eggs developed fine but the incubator was an owl banger of a thing. It was a good expensive €400 wine cooler I used. I didn’t buy it for eggs though !

 

[Shamo123]

Yea I’ve used one before. But dew to a bad incubator at the time I chose to use broody Hens now. They are the best after all !
The eggs developed fine but the incubator was an owl banger of a thing. It was a good expensive €400 wine cooler I used. I didn’t buy it for eggs though !

You can't beat a broody hen when it comes to hatching rates. I've personally noticed they can hatch older eggs better than an incubator. I won't be using one this year as my previous broody was so protective over her 3 month chicks that it ended up getting her killed so will just be using an incubator this year.

I don't drink so i will be buying one just for eggs although 400 is way out of my budget. I'm going to look for a used one or buy a cheap new one.

 

[chickengeorgeto]

I doubt that a wine cooler would be useful to store eggs in unless the cooler was shut off and you only used it as a cabinet. Eggs should be stored at 55° Fahrenheit or at about 10° to 15° Celsius. The effect that ALL types of refrigeration has on relative humidity is to decrease the relative humidity. Hatching eggs store best at 65% or higher relative humidity. If the germ or the interior of the eggs reaches 40° Fahrenheit or about 4° Celsius that egg is not going to hatch. Chick development starts at about 65° Fahrenheit or 18° Celsius and this slow or stop & go development saps the vitality or the life out of the developing fetus.

Hen hatching is more emotional satisfying than minding an incubator but for shear numbers of chicks hatched a good incubator beats the hen hands down. The problem with hen hatching is that you never know what the hen is thinking but with an incubator there are fewer unknowns to trip you up. IOW once you learn to correctly use an incubator A+B+C = live chicks. With a setting hen more things can and often do go wrong or sideways.

 

[Golden Brahma 64]

I doubt that a wine cooler would be useful to store eggs in unless the cooler was shut off and you only used it as a cabinet. Eggs should be stored at 55° Fahrenheit or at about 10° to 15° Celsius. The effect that ALL types of refrigeration has on relative humidity is to decrease the relative humidity. Hatching eggs store best at 65% or higher relative humidity. If the germ or the interior of the eggs reaches 40° Fahrenheit or about 4° Celsius that egg is not going to hatch. Chick development starts at about 65° Fahrenheit or 18° Celsius and this slow or stop & go development saps the vitality or the life out of the developing fetus.

Hen hatching is more emotional satisfying than minding an incubator but for shear numbers of chicks hatched a good incubator beats the hen hands down. The problem with hen hatching is that you never know what the hen is thinking but with an incubator there are fewer unknowns to trip you up. IOW once you learn to correctly use an incubator A+B+C = live chicks. With a setting hen more things can and often do go wrong or sideways.

I will agree with you on the wine cooler as my eggs did not hatch.
However what you said about the broody hen vs an incubator is debatable. My hatches have always been a 100% success with broody hens. All the expensive incubators I’ve bought have never had as good a hatch as my broodies.

 

[Golden Brahma 64]

A broody hen is an incubator and a brooder at the same time. You don’t have to worry about the electricity going off, you don’t have to candle the eggs as the broody gets rid of dud eggs. This prevents bacteria from your hands smothering the egg. You also don’t have to worry about humidity and temperature. In fact there really is no worrying involved with a broody hen. Using an incubator can be stressful. Especially with the incubators that you have to self turn. This is just my opinion.

 

[Shamo123]

I doubt that a wine cooler would be useful to store eggs in unless the cooler was shut off and you only used it as a cabinet. Eggs should be stored at 55° Fahrenheit or at about 10° to 15° Celsius. The effect that ALL types of refrigeration has on relative humidity is to decrease the relative humidity. Hatching eggs store best at 65% or higher relative humidity. If the germ or the interior of the eggs reaches 40° Fahrenheit or about 4° Celsius that egg is not going to hatch. Chick development starts at about 65° Fahrenheit or 18° Celsius and this slow or stop & go development saps the vitality or the life out of the developing fetus.

Hen hatching is more emotional satisfying than minding an incubator but for shear numbers of chicks hatched a good incubator beats the hen hands down. The problem with hen hatching is that you never know what the hen is thinking but with an incubator there are fewer unknowns to trip you up. IOW once you learn to correctly use an incubator A+B+C = live chicks. With a setting hen more things can and often do go wrong or sideways.

I'm no expert on wine coolers and i didn't even know they existed until yesterday but what i do know is they differ from a regular fridge in that temps don't go low, the ones I've seen have a temperature range of 5c to 20c. I want to store at about 10c. They are also supposed to keep a higher humidity as apparently low humidity dries out the cork on wine bottles. No idea howhthey keep a higher humidity but some i've seen have a compartment you fill with water so it's the same principle as an incubator when you want to raise humidity.

I agree that things can go wrong with an untested broody. A relative of mine had one that sat on the eggs for 21 days then killed every single chick as soon as they hatched.

 

[Shamo123]

A broody hen is an incubator and a brooder at the same time. You don’t have to worry about the electricity going off, you don’t have to candle the eggs as the broody gets rid of dud eggs. This prevents bacteria from your hands smothering the egg. You also don’t have to worry about humidity and temperature. In fact there really is no worrying involved with a broody hen. Using an incubator can be stressful. Especially with the incubators that you have to self turn. This is just my opinion.

There are arguments to be made on both sides. I agree with everything you said but there are definitely some advantages an incubator has over a broody.

 

[Shamo123]

I will agree with you on the wine cooler as my eggs did not hatch.
However what you said about the broody hen vs an incubator is debatable. My hatches have always been a 100% success with broody hens. All the expensive incubators I’ve bought have never had as good a hatch as my broodies.

Do you think it was the wine cooler at fault or something else? I ask because on paper a wine cooler sounds perfect for storing hatching eggs. Did you maybe set the temperature too low?

 

[Shamo123]

Anyone managed to store hatching eggs succesfully in a wine cooler? Don't really want to invest in one if it won't work out for whatever reason.