Am I storing eggs correctly?

[BackyardDove]

I recently decided to start storing my hen's fertile eggs until they go broody. I'm very anxious to start off with a good first batch, so I'm a bit nervous with how well I'm doing in all the different aspects of chicken raising(I had no idea when I first decided I was going to do this!). Before I can worry about the actual incubation process, I have to worry about the storing of the eggs beforehand. I've been storing the eggs in egg cartons, dating them by marking a piece of tape, and leaving them on the kitchen counter. I found out that it's better to have the pointy end of the egg facing downward and also tilt the egg carton/rotate which side is tilting a couple times a day. I don't know how much of a tilt they need though. Is there anything else I can be doing to help increase the chances that the eggs will survive? The room they're stored in is at a constant 71-72 degrees. I'm not sure I'll be able to store them in a cooler area if that's necessary, we have no basement and we don't have a minifridge.

 

[WalnutHill]

Do you have a cool closet floor you can place them on, or in the garage on the floor?

How long do you plan to store them? Hatchability drops considerably after ten days of storage, and even earlier at room temperatures.

I don't know how many hens you are collecting from, but I'd suggest not collecting more than about 12 eggs, and every day replace the oldest eggs with the current day's eggs. The oldest eggs should still be fresh enough for the table, but check before using.

Place them in a carton, fat end up, and seal in a large ziplock bag. The bag preserves humidity. Just use a block to elevate one end of the carton, and then the other.

 

[sonjab314]

I was told to rotate the eggs 45* angle. I agree with BackyardDove. The hathability does decline as the eggs age. Good luck with your broodies

 

[WalnutHill]

A 45 degree tilt of the eggs is 22 1/2 degrees in each direction. That's easy to achieve with just a piece of 2 x 4 at one end of the carton. When you move the block to the other end, you will have accomplished about a 45 degree tilt.

 

[BackyardDove]

Unfortunately not. The only closet available is my own closet, but I keep my room at 75-78 degrees, so I doubt they're better off in there. We have a storage shed, but the temps in there can easily reach over 80 degrees. I'm collecting from 4 hens, though their eggs are stored in their own cartons. I'm doing exactly that though, only collecting up to 12 and replacing the oldest ones with the newest. I only plan on using 10 of each carton of the stored eggs, the other two are just in case something happens. Do they need humidity? I thought that was only for when they need to be incubated?

I have another question that's kind of unrelated. How is it that eggs can only be stored in specific conditions for 10 days before the rate of hatchability decreases, yet a hen can make a nest, lay an egg everyday(so, essentially, store them) until she has a full clutch, and then after that incubate them with no issue on survive rates?

 

[WalnutHill]

A hen doesn't normally set a clutch of more than 10-12 eggs of her own (other hens often volunteer some, though), and nests outdoors near the ground benefit from the earth's humidity. And hens DO have issues with survival rates. They don't normally have 100% success either.

You don't need to add humidity while storing, you just need to preserve it. The air cells will grow even without incubation, potentially causing issues during incubation. If you are only storing the eggs for a day or two, no need to worry about this.

 

[BackyardDove]

A hen doesn't normally set a clutch of more than 10-12 eggs of her own (other hens often volunteer some, though), and nests outdoors near the ground benefit from the earth's humidity. And hens DO have issues with survival rates. They don't normally have 100% success either.

You don't need to add humidity while storing, you just need to preserve it. The air cells will grow even without incubation, potentially causing issues during incubation. If you are only storing the eggs for a day or two, no need to worry about this.

Ah, I understand. Boy, this is a lot more complicated than I ever anticipated... and there is still no guarantee they'll hatch either. Thank you very much for your help!

 

[Titanpaul726]

Ah, I understand. Boy, this is a lot more complicated than I ever anticipated... and there is still no guarantee they'll hatch either. Thank you very much for your help!

This doesn't have to be complicated. Just keep it simple. Gather and store eggs for (up to) 7 days. 10-12 days if you want to. Store them pointy end down on your kitchen counter (just like I do) during the seven days. You don't have to tilt them. I never do. When you have all you want to incubate, put them in the incubator at the proper temp and humidity, turning several times during the day. On day 18, up the humidity to 70-75% and stop turning. Wait for the little guys to start hatching.

I don't want you to give up on hatching your own eggs. It's pretty simple when you get right down to it.

 

[BackyardDove]

This doesn't have to be complicated. Just keep it simple. Gather and store eggs for (up to) 7 days. 10-12 days if you want to. Store them pointy end down on your kitchen counter (just like I do) during the seven days. You don't have to tilt them. I never do. When you have all you want to incubate, put them in the incubator at the proper temp and humidity, turning several times during the day. On day 18, up the humidity to 70-75% and stop turning. Wait for the little guys to start hatching.

I don't want you to give up on hatching your own eggs. It's pretty simple when you get right down to it.

The complicated part is having a broody hen care for the eggs. That means I have to repeat the step of storing eggs until the hens decide they want to care for them. I would buy an incubator, but this is just a hobby of mine and I don't know if I'll make enough money for it to be worth buying an incubator.

 

[Titanpaul726]

I would really be interested in your results with the broody hen. I've never done that but am very curious about it. I hope you will keep us posted.