collecting eggs to put in the incubator

[christytrav]

New to all this. I have tons of questions on the proper care of the eggs before I put them in the incubator. It is cold here, getting up to 40 during the day but as low as 5 still during the night. I collected my first egg when I got home tonight (it's about 30 degrees out) it had probably been sitting in the box for a few hours. Wasn't frozen and actually didn't feel real cold. Could it still be viable? If so can I just keep it at room temp now? I will be home tomorrow so I should be able to get the egg before it sits out there too long.
Would love to know how you all do this part.

 

[MoodyChicken]

Your egg should still be viable. Ideally you want them to be stored in a slightly humid room with good ventilation and an average temperature of around 50 F. Rotate them once or twice a day to prevent the yolk from sticking to side. Try not to store over 2 weeks as this will greatly reduce hatchability. You can candle them to see how much the air cell has grown (large air cells are older eggs).

 

[Ryu]

We've been collecting out of our unheated barn since February. We don't keep any frozen eggs, but everything else has been fertile and hatched so far.

I need one more to balance my tray inthe Brinsea, so I pulled a Buckeye egg out of the refrigerator--it is going to hatch Friday!

 

[christytrav]

Thanks you guys. I will just keep on pluggin along then. Appreciate your help