At what cold temperature do fertilized eggs die?

[NHchicks]

I picked up a half dozen fertilized eggs from someone for my broody hen, but they felt cold and I wondered if this person had stored these in the fridge. I hope not. But I know sometimes hens will wait until they amass a certain number of eggs in the nest before they sit on them, so I assume those eggs in nature can get pretty cold too.

If you keep eggs in the fridge, doesn't it kill their fertility? Does anyone know at what temperatures they become unfertile, or for how long they have to be in those temperatures? I know these eggs were laid yesterday and today, but like I said, when I picked them up, they felt cold, and I suspect maybe they were in the fridge...

Thank you!

 

[Tam'ra of Rainbow Vortex]

Somebody here said they hatched refridgerated eggs. Don't recall who, but they said they put 2 washed, refridgerated eggs into the incubator with the other normally stored ones and both hatched.
Good luck!

 

[danischi24]

Yeah, people hatch refrigerated eggs all the time. I don't think that fertility is quite as good as room temperature but they certainly do hatch.

 

[NHchicks]

Huh. Well I guess they will hatch then. I was under the impression that once you refrigerated them, their fertility ended. Thank you!

 

[A.T. Hagan]

I refrigerate all of my hatching eggs this time of year and I get typically 90+% hatch rate on chicken eggs if they are fresh.