Are winter chicken eggs viable to incubate

[bryan99705]

Here in West Tennesse, temps are running from 50 down to the teens. Our hens are laying fertile eggs during the day, allowing them to cool to whatever the current day's temp. Are these eggs ok to hatch or, because they were "refridgerated" no viable to incubate?

 

[FarmerGirl101]

As long as you have a rooster they should be good!

 

[bryan99705]

As long as you have a rooster they should be good!

We have several very active roos. I thought the eggs need to be kept warm to be hatchable

 

[FarmerGirl101]

We have several very active roos. I thought the eggs need to be kept warm to be hatchable

They should be ok as long as they didn’t freeze. Hens will lay a clutch over the course of around a week so it’s normal for them to be at room temp or colder. It’s when you start incubation is when you need to keep them warm. Plus, you can always incubate them now and see if they are viable. If not, just try again with a new clutch

 

[Kiki]

I have hatched eggs that were stored in my refrigerator for at least a week.

 

[Susan Skylark]

Temps are hovering around 32F in my garage and my quail eggs are running 90 percent fertility, as long as they don’t freeze solid and crack the shell you’ll be fine!

 

[Hummer]

Here in West Tennesse, temps are running from 50 down to the teens. Our hens are laying fertile eggs during the day, allowing them to cool to whatever the current day's temp. Are these eggs ok to hatch or, because they were "refridgerated" no viable to incubate?

I have read to let refrigerated eggs warm up to room temperature before putting in incubator.

 

[gullinkambe]

I just set some duck eggs that were laid in below zero f temperatures, and collected before they froze (some were very cold to the touch. I carefully warmed them a little at the time.)
8 out of 9 are viable on day 4!

 

[Ridgerunner]

Are these eggs ok to hatch or, because they were "refridgerated" no viable to incubate?

A lot of this kind of stuff originates from the professionals that normally hatch around 1,000,000 chicks a week. They have carefully studied the entire process and take great pains to provide "ideal" storage and hatching conditions. With 1,000,000 chicks a week, even a very small advantage can mean a lot of chicks over a year. We get a lot of our information from these studies but you need to read them in context.

The closer you can store them in ideal conditions the "better" your hatch rates. But hens can lay eggs for a couple of weeks in a hidden nest before incubation starts. Those nests are in a variety of locations with varying temperatures and humidity levels. Many of those hens still get fabulous hatch rates.

Another factor is that the longer they are at extreme conditions the worse the hatch rate. If you can, collect them a little more often when it is extreme, whether hot or cold. If you can't, just do the best you can.