Buying hatching eggs....

[3forfree]

I bought 24 local eggs last spring, and not one of them hatched. All were porous. After having a good hatch of pheasant eggs I wanted to try chickens, and this really threw a curve into my incubating. I'm going to try again but not sure where to get eggs.

 

[bigdawg]

i shipped three boxes of eggs this week and i have two boxes shipping next week. if it takes longer for them to get to there destination i will be trying ups next. although i dont want to switch. one went fla,one went minnesota, and the other mi. time will tell.

 

[cielo]

Quote:
Good idea with the notebook! I have an excell spreadsheet I use. I'm new to shipped eggs too, 4 batches tried. My experience has been pretty good. About 50% with the exception of one batch of eggs I got that was packed bad, newspaper only! Upon opening, 3 eggs were broken, another couple cracked, only one ever developed and then I broke it on accident. I'm still sad about that one... I have been keeping track of the people I buy from and will continue to order from the sellers I have good hatches from.

I think much of my luck is due to having good incubators w/auto turners (ECO 20 & Hova 2362n), stable room temp and reliable temp and humid measuring devices. I know the ranges that are good for my bators after some trial and error. I've found that trying to maintain my incubators in the 40s for %humidity works for days 1-18 and then I try and get it up to 65-70% for lockdown. Also I don't spend much on eggs so a loss isn't tragic. The shipping so far has been more expensive than the eggs! I am also a fan of ordering eggs from people on this site.

My first hatch I was a stress mess. Now I don't over think it. I just candle before setting, at 10 and again at 18 days. Only have had one stinker and that was my fault for setting a cracked egg. At 18 days I remove obvious clears and quitters and lock em down!

I see any chick that hatches as a mini miracle. Consider, egg to chick in 3 weeks!?

Amazing!

Good luck to everyone with your incubating.

 

[Chris Herzog]

Quote:
I had eggs shipped to me on Monday and they were at the USPS yesterday morning ready to be picked up.

Chris

 

[madamwlf]

I had eggs shipped to me on Monday from Ohio and I've yet to see them.

 

[billiejo21]

I too think shipped eggs are a toss up....and being new to hatching...I'm not helping the process much!! I had a bunch of porous eggs my first hatch...and had a great hatch rate! 8 out of 10. My second batch, had beautiful eggs...had great development...almost all made it to lock down...only 25% actually hatched. That was my error...had a problem with my hygrometer I believe....on to the next hatch!! I too have spent a lot of money for certain eggs, but go into it knowing that the likelyhood for a good hatch is decreased...I think 35% hatch rate on shipped eggs is pretty normal, however, the eggs I take a chance on, I can't find in my area...so it's worth the risk!!

Good luck on your future hatches!