another one of THOSE questions...

[canesisters]

This may be one of those things that I should've picked up on a long time - but didn't.
I keep seeing references to 'when you decide to start incubating' or 'I've been waiting a week for my hatching eggs to arrive’.. things like that.
Question - Fertile eggs can just sit around for a while (how long?) and incubation can be 'started' by .... adding heat and moisture???
I've checked the Learning Center pages but don't see any egg handling info prior to putting them in the incubator.
Is there a thread I can check out?

Thanks

 

[silkymom1986]

Not sure if there's a thread on this or not, but I have heard several different answers, some say collect for a week then start incubating, I was originally told they stay fertile for 3 weeks, we collected them daily brought inside and kept them at room temp, made sure the bator was steady temp and humidity wise, and put them in when we were done collecting and had a good hatch.

 

[johnsons-r-us]

I can't help you as I'm still learning too.

But I was wondering the same thing. I've people say they've taken eggs out of the fridge and hatched them. I'm not sure how long you can hold them and such. Thanks for asking though!

 

[WhiteMountainsRanch]

A good rule of thumb is that they are very fertile and hatchable up to two weeks after being laid. After that you can hatch them but the chances of them developing decrease. Also while gathering and waiting to be incubated you need to rotate them three times a day and keep them in a temperature controlled environment. There are always exceptions though.

The embryo doesn't start developing until about 48 hours after you add the right heat and humidity. That's why you can eat fertile eggs and they are the same as regular eggs.

 

[cmom]

If they are shipped eggs I would put them in the incubator as soon as you get them as you may not know how old they are when you get them and the longer you wait the less viable the eggs will be. Just my opinion from my experiences. If you have a turner this is what I do, I put the eggs in the incubator in the tuener but leave the turner off for the first day then on the second day turn on the turner. That way the eggs get a chance to rest and the yolks to reposition while coming up to temperature internally. Again this is what I do and not maybe what other may do.

 

[misslady]

I've heard that it's best to incubate them before seven days, but for sure before 10 days because after that their viability decreases. This also depends on whether your eggs were shipped or not, in my opinion. With shipped eggs I try to get them in the incubator as soon as I can. You can collect eggs and store them pointed end down and as long as they are at a good temperature they will stay viable and not develop, somewhere in the 40-50 degree (Fahrenheit) range I believe. If it gets too hot, they will start developing.

People have had eggs hatch after refrigeration but it is not recommended to refrigerate them before incubation as this too drops viability.

Everyone has different methods, but this is what I've found to work best in my limited experience, hope it helps!

 

[The Critter Place]

It's my understanding that they can be gathered and stored for up to 10 days. Any longer than that, the viability decreases.
They need to be stored in a controlled environment, around 50-60 degrees.
Shipped eggs should be stored at room temp. for 12-24 hours, large end up , before setting in incubator.

 

[The Critter Place]

O.K.
Here's a great article on the subject.

I guess storing for 10 days is pushing it.

http://gallus.tamu.edu/library/extpublications/b6092.pdf

 

[canesisters]

Fascinating, thanks for the info.

I got another one - if anyone wants to indulge my ignorance.
The breeds that lay green and blue eggs ... does each chicken lay an assortment of colors? Or does each one have it's own special color? As in, this is Peggy, she lays green eggs and this is Sue, she lays light blue eggs.

 

[cmom]

The breed of chicken determines the color of the eggs. http://www.ithaca.edu/staff/jhenderson/chooks/chooks.html