Do shipped eggs really hatch?

[Davaroo]

I spoke with my friend Tom who happens to be, through no small coincidence, my route postman. We've been friends for awhile now I consulted for him on a real estate situation he had last year. Needless to say, we are pretty good acquaintences.

He recommended that my shipped eggs be sent 'Hold for Pickup', as that generally will give the better chance. He also agreed that the extra money for Special Handling is probably a waste.
He did love the idea of the pictures on the package, though, especially the ones that show what the eggs will one day become.

Marking them FRAGILE and "Hatching Eggs" on the package would likely be overlooked by the average postal handler and certainly by the sorting machines and conveyors.

Like me, he reckons the pictures would get them noticed and at least offer sporting chance on the delivery end.

 

[Little Ameraucana Mom]

I just got 100% hatch on eggs I bought from BYC member cherndon712. 8 silkie eggs out of 8 Yeah!!!!

 

[dancingbear]

Mrs. AK-Bird-Brain :

Dancingbear, that is brilliant.

I might just have to try that.

If I might add, though, there IS a way to request that the package is not run through the normal machine grind...
USPS Special Handling Services

Special Services pricing

It's $7.40 up to 10 lbs, and $10.40 over 10 lbs. You get special preferential treatment. (That's the theory, anyway). So, if you're having eggs shipped in and are willing to pay a little more for shipping, you could request the seller add this to the package.

It's still hit or miss with me, though... I ordered rare eggs, sent Priority, and they were scrambled and late. I ordered them again, paying up to $75 for the eggs and express shipping... still took 3 days to get here and only one egg hatched. This year she sent me 24 eggs for free, and 12 hatched. Go figure.

Do you know if that's in addition to regular postage, or if that is the postage for SH? I'm wondering if it's available for eggs. I'll ask my P.O. lady.

I've pondered the idea of labeling them as some sort of live thing, (bees, maybe?) in order to use the Special Handling. But I hate to be deceitful about anything, and I don't know what restrictions/permits could be required. If it's allowable for eggs, I wonder if they really are more careful with them.

Have you used SH when mailing eggs? I'd love to find a safer, affordable option to offer my customers, and to request when I order eggs, too. I have $27 worth of eggs in the bator now, or rather, the pitiful handful that still looked possibly viable by day 18. I may get one or two, hatched late, if I'm lucky. The due to hatch date was the 21st, yesterday. I have 1 chick out, from one of my hens' eggs that I put in with the shipped ones. My other two should hatch tonight. The shipped eggs may not hatch at all. Every single one of them had damaged air cells. Many started, but most quit. Of the ones left, I think 2 have a slim chance. But I'll leave them another couple of days, in case.

I'd have been delighted to shell out a few bucks more, to increase the odds of a few eggs hatching. And I'm a cheapskate, too!​

 

[Mrs MIA]

Quote:
Bummer...

 

[dancingbear]

BTW, thanks everybody who had kind comments about my packaging. It's nice to get positive opinions.

 

[mrandmrschicken]

For me, it has been difficult to hatch shipped eggs. The results have been poor. I have only hatched eggs unavailable as chicks and extremely rare. It is also not cost effective. I have two chicks that cost me 17.50 each to buy and have shipped. Out of the dozen I bought, only those two developed.
At the end of the day, it may be the only way to get certain breeds or varieties.

 

[Steve_of_sandspoultry]

Marking them FRAGILE and "Hatching Eggs" on the package would likely be overlooked by the average postal handler and certainly by the sorting machines and conveyors.

That was exactly what we have been told by a person that works in a USPS "hub" - All the marking and lables in the world have no effect when your box is on the truck, on the pallet being moved by a forklift etc.

Steve in NC​

 

[kazkut]

i ordered 12 thai gamefowl eggs from epling01 and he sent 16 very well packaged eggs. Even with that good packaging 7 still had broken air cells during shipping. I was a bit upset when I candled the eggs at day 5 and only 2 looked viable (veining), but tonight I candled which is day 6 and it looks like I have at least 5 viable eggs, and that's not even counting the ones with broken air cells cause I didnt bother to candle those. I'm hoping more will show viable by day 10. By then I will know which ones to toss.

i have a home-made bater. square styrofoam box from wallyworld, can barely hold all 16 but they fit. repti-temp 500r thermostat which regulates the temp from 98.9-100.9, verified by a baby thermometer, temp goes up to 100.9 when bulb activates then drops to 98.9 when shut off, then back up.. all day long.. that gives me an average of about 100. a 35watt lightbulb controlled by a dimmer so that when thermostat activates it slowly raises the temp, a cup of water inside keeps the humidity at 60, adding an additional small cup at day 18 brings it up to 65-66. one computer fan above the light bulb... and the best addition I believe is the Targus laptop cooler with 2 high CFM fans built in. It fits perfectly inside the styrofoam box and pushes so much air that even the air below the egg cartons never drops below 98.5.

my first hatch i only got one to hatch out of 15.

so i made some improvements for my 2nd hatch.

i'm hoping with the addition of this Targus laptop cooler that the hatch rate is at least 50 percent.

 

[walkswithdog]

It works out so well, I'm about to do it again. Show partridge rock, partridge cochin and maybe some GCMarans. But I'm sending em out for hatching this time since I'm stranded midway of a seriously staggered hatch. While failures are costly, the successes really do bring the overall cost significantly down from the purchase and shipping of started birds. I'd never get these lines otherwise.

 

[Stina]

Forgot to post here when my chicks hatched! Of the 16 eggs that I got shipped I got 7 perfectly gorgeous chicks! It's about what I expected to have hatch out of them