Do shipped eggs really hatch?

[TerriLaChicks]

The only way I could get the quality & breeds that I wanted was to hatch shipped eggs, so I've been at it for almost a year now. I've had 0 percent & I've had good hatches.

I absolutely believe the biggest factor that made a difference in failure and success was when I bought an auto-turner. The less you open & close the lid, the more stable you keep everything, the better chance you have.

Having said that, I also am absolutely sure that there have been some shipments that definitely were scrambled by the USPS while in transit. So, you have no control over that factor, you just have to take your chances there.

My flock is now closed; I have the breeds I want & can raise my own from here on out. I feel like it was worth the time, effort & $$$ I put into getting the chickens I wanted.

 

[Akane]

I don't buy the whole keeping the bator closed the whole incubation thing. I have hand turned 5 times a day and candled some daily and still had 95-96% hatch rates. I've also barely handled some with turning 3 times a day and no candling and had horrible hatch rates. I don't see that it makes a difference to open and close the bator during incubation. I just try to not to keep eggs out past 10mins or open repeatedly too close together so the bator isn't constantly losing heat. In a still air I think it even helps to open it at least once a day to exchange fresh air.

 

[DANNY]

I agree. I open my bator when ever i want to without giving it a second thought and i hatch more birds than anyone needs to. I think people are way too paranoid about it. I do spray the ones in the hatcher if i think i need to when i open it. My broodie hens come off for periods of time every day so i think they know what they are doing.

 

[Davaroo]

Do shipped eggs really hatch?
Of course they do. Is it a perfcet mehtod? No.
I've had hatches ranging from 90%-0% with shipped eggs. Ive also had great hatches from local eggs and others equally as pitiful, too.

One of the main problems with shipped eggs is the lack of control you, the hatcherist, has over the outcome. You know nothing of the breeding that went on, for example. The surest element of success involves well bred, vigorous stock. Proper diet, proper sex ratios, proper sanitation and care, proper selection among the breed stock for vigor as primary trait - all of these keenly matter to the success of any egg. Add the rigors of shipping to the egg and these double in importance.

Just because eggs come from someone here at BYC is no guarantee that they know what they are doing, either. It might mean that, but it isn't a sure thing. While I firmly believe that good intentions prevail here at BYC,

simply raising chickens so they will provide a fertile egg is not usually enough.

On top of good breeding ans selection, you also must have eggs that are collected quickly and shipped even sooner. Sitting around even one day too long before shipment - when added to all the other things the eggs have to endure - could make a difference to their hatchability.

Too, when fertile egg shipping began in earnest back in the late 1800's, there were actual people involved in their handling at every step.
A basket or box marked fertile shipping eggs was affored due care and handling by the people involved in its transit. Everyone knew, back then, that someones livelihood or food source could be at stake.
Today, that has changed. Uncaring machines do nearly all the work - the only people who see the box are at the front and back end. And they are as careless as can be, if the stories we hear about the PO are only half true.

So it IS a crap shoot, to some degree. What can you do?

- Start at the beginning: screen your source breeders to ensure they are doing things right. Just any old hatching egg will do to test your incubator, but for the best of the best to replenish or upgrade your stock, you must do your due diligence. Make sure they know how to package right for shipment, too, and expect this to cost money.
This cannot be gotten right for free, most of the time (although the friendly folks here at BYC are your best source for a good deal, IMHO).

- Get shipped eggs that are freshly laid. There is some trust involved on this score, as there is little you can do to ensure the shipper/breeder is on top of their job in this regard. But it bears mention.

- One of the good things about todays shipping is it's speed and the internet. 2 days, Priority Mail, is pretty good. If you know for a certainty that your mail will be delivered early, say, your stop is on the first loop of the day, then go ahead and have them sent straight on to your home. Signature confirmation makes me feel comfortable here, and that way someone besides you is paying attention to it.
But, for most people, mail delivery can still be a little dicey. In my case, I'm one of the last stops of the day.
So, if this sounds like you or you just want to take a bit more control of the situation, request that your egg packages be sent Priority as "Hold For Pickup." (edit)
Then when it arrives, be prepared to go get them. This may be inconvenient, but it is important.
That way, they don't spend all day bouncing around in a hot delivery van, or sitting on the porch until you get home to collect them. Better they sit in the back room of a cool (hopefully) P.O., waiting for you.

- Have your incubator running and stable before the eggs arrive.
This is sublimely simple, but more than a few people make this mistake. Make sure you know it works, too. It can be disconcerting to add eggs to the incubator and then watch as the temperature falls off - if you didn't know that would happen. Do your experimenting before you have eggs in hand, always.

- Be persistent. Dont give up if you experience failure or poor results. There are many sellers/breeders out there who know what they are doing and provide good hatching eggs. For those who may be new to it, help them get it right. And when you find someone who gives you what you need, stick with them. Loyalty counts.

 

[Akane]

Do not mark packages hold for pickup or call for pickup unless you clear it with the person you're sending eggs to. That was the most annoying thing ever!!!! I was rather unhappy with that seller for plastering my cell number over a box and saying call for pickup. Then the box would not have even gotten to me if the post office hadn't known to call my mom instead so she could get it. Not all of us work 8-5.

8am phone calls piss me off and if my phone isn't on silent I still won't answer a number I don't know and will probably put it on silent at that point. If they hadn't called my mom I wouldn't have known my box was in town for another day and who knows what conditions it would have sat in. If they'd sent it out on the truck it would have been at my house by the time I got up. I've had no problems with eggs going out on the truck to my house and I'd much prefer they keep showing up at my door.

 

[Davaroo]

Quote:
To each his own, of course. What works for you may indeed work for you - but may not be best for another. Many people DO work 8-5, you know.
To cover all bases, I've found it serves the most people best to make self-pickup arrangements. If you have been tracking them as I suggest, anyway, then unrecognized phone numbers should be answered, for obvious reasons. However, an edit has been made based on your comments. So, thank you.

But remember, this isn't really about making our lives easier, anyway. It's intent is to give your hatching eggs the best chance at surviving the trip to you ans prvoding you with good hatches. If it means you gotta get up an hour early or go to the P.O. at lunch break, well, so it goes. You know?

 

[Mrs MIA]

Unfortunately, the tracking system doesn't always work. I've tried to track packages that I KNOW were sent, and the message that comes up is always something about being notified that the shipper intends to send the package on X date, and that the electronic shipping information has been received - check back this evening... 3 days later it suddenly changes to "tried to deliver" without any other updtes. I know that when it says it was processed in Anchorage that I'm getting it the next morning... but 50% of the time they don't update.

And my experience is that 95% of the packages that are marked as hatching eggs are scrambled by the PO. Sad, but in my case true.

 

[Davaroo]

Mrs. AK-Bird-Brain :

Unfortunately, the tracking system doesn't always work. I've tried to track packages that I KNOW were sent, and the message that comes up is always something about being notified that the shipper intends to send the package on X date, and that the electronic shipping information has been received - check back this evening... 3 days later it suddenly changes to "tried to deliver" without any other updtes. I know that when it says it was processed in Anchorage that I'm getting it the next morning... but 50% of the time they don't update.

And my experience is that 95% of the packages that are marked as hatching eggs are scrambled by the PO. Sad, but in my case true.

Im wondering if living on the Kenai Peninsula may not automatically put you in a sort of tracking "limbo land." Do you experience the same tracking issues with other packages? I ask because I have rarely experienced anything but decent response from the tracking system.
It is not up to the minute and the best you can achieve in my experience is about 8 hours response. But it beats having nothing to go by and simply hanging around, waiting. And it does seem to work for you, albeit in a quirky sort of way.

But then, I live in CONUS. There are surely gaps for those who live in the toolies.
AS for handling in transit, I wish I had a magic wand for that one. About the best you can do is pray.​

 

[Mrs MIA]

Quote:
Im wondering if living on the Kenai Peninusla may not put you in a sort of tracking "limbo land." I say this becasue I have rarely experienced anything but decent reponse from the tracking system.
It is not up to the minute and the best you can achieve in my experience is about 8 hours response. But it beats having nothing to go by and simply hanging around, waiting.

But then, I live in CONUS. There are surely gaps fpr those who live in the toolies.

Yep... it probably has a lot to do with it. I've seen them take my packages that I did the click'n'ship (try saying that 5 times fast!) and they don't scan it when they receive it. They just put it in the bag to go out.

That's what I get for living in the sticks.

LOL!

 

[Sooz]

Am very new to chicken rearing and hatching, but I got some call duck eggs of ebay and popped them under one of our hens . At first she only sat on them now and again but eventually she would hardly get of them and the end result was seven georgous ducklngs. I put them into brooder and felt a bit sorry for the wee hen for taking them away after all her dedication. I wonder how she would have rected to them if I had let her mind them but I was to woried about them being hurt or squashed by her. So obviously shipped eggs work sometimes. I would love to publish some pics her but dont know how to. Can anyone help.