Does putting eggs in the fridge cancel out their fertility?

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A fertile egg is a fertile egg, whether it is refrigerated or not. Now if you want to know, can they hatch..the answer is yes. I have already hatched eggs that have been refrigerated for up to 2 weeks with very little impact to incubation and development.

Jody
 
I've had local people ask for fertile refridged eggs from my henhouse and they have had good hatches. They just brought them up to room temps and added them to their incubators. So fertile is fertile
wink.png
 
That's great news!

Thanks. I can't wait for my ladies to start laying.... (at 10 days old I think I have a fair bit of waiting still to do).

My wife seems infatuated with trying to cross our guinea male with our sex-sal's... I think she likes guns :-)

i was intentionally omitted in guins.
 
yes, they will hatch, sometimes,
but it is best to keep them just a bit warmer than refrigerated..

55 to 60 degrees is better..

length of time is the worst culprit.. try to get them incubating within a week..

a lone chicken will lay a dozen eggs before she sets.. that translates into almost two weeks with no refrigeration..

sooooo, go figure..

.....jiminwisc..........
 
I agree with Jim. If your intention is to hatch, then do not refrigerate them.

Jody
 
I've heard that when storing eggs to incubate it's best to keep them at room temp, in a carton angled 45 degrees. Write AM & PM on either end of the carton, and twice a day rotate the end that's raised up.

I think you'll get better results with fresher eggs, but some will stay viable for over a week. And I too have gotten refrigerated eggs to hatch. A few times I was setting a broody hen and remembered a particular hen's egg from which I wanted to get a chick. I would let the refrigerated egg warm to room temp & place it under the hen. They had only been in the frige a few days, but it was fun to think "there's the chick that had been refrigerated!"

So I would advise storing your eggs for incubation out of the refrigerator, and using them as soon as you can. But you could still take a chance with older and/or refrigerated eggs and get satisfactory results.
 
Quote:
I would not suggest ever putting eggs in refrigerator if you are planning to incubate. It is best to store eggs in an carton if possible..big side of the egg up. I wouldn't store the eggs no longer than 10 days. 7 days is better for a better hatch rate. Eggs should be held in a cool location between 50-55F until you are ready to incubate. Do not refrigerate!! I wrote this info off of my incubator instruction booklet. I hope this helps and GOOD LUCK!! DJ
 
I know that everyone does not have a basement, but usually that is the greatest place to keep your eggs. I have found a great egg safe though! It is a vintage Icebox. Not the type made of Oak, but the same principle. If you can find one and you have an outdoor building that does not get to hot you can put it in there. If you have to add a bag of ice every now and then to keep the eggs around 55 to 60 degrees no big deal. I have a 3 level basement in my packing barn, guess I could store about a trillion eggs in there all year round, but the snakes and vermin would get to much pleasure from that.
 

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