Does refrigerating fertile eggs increase storage time?

[QuailMan6666]

Does refrigerating fertile eggs increase their storage time until they can be place in the incubator?

 

[casportpony]

Does refrigerating fertile eggs increase their storage time until they can be place in the incubator?

A refrigerator is too cold.

 

[BobStuart]

Interesting question. I do not suggest it though.

 

[Huntmaster]

Does refrigerating fertile eggs increase their storage time until they can be place in the incubator?

As @casportpony stated to cold and being frost free they dry eggs out faster than normal storage.

 

[Debbie292d]

Does refrigerating fertile eggs increase their storage time until they can be place in the incubator?

I wouldn't suggest it, but I've done it. I had been saving to set eggs and didn't want my fresher ones to be over two weeks old. I was shy about 6 eggs from having two dozen (just a few silkie hens were laying).

I grabbed 8 from the fridge. 5 of 8 hatched. That's a crappy hatch rate, but not if you consider they came from the fridge and were at least two weeks old.

 

[Bantams182]

We just hatched 9 from out of the refrigerator that had been in there a week or a little longer, all 9 hatched. Had place 4 under one broody and 5 under another, 100% hatch rate. OEGB eggs.

 

[mcdze]

i will have to say yes, but really only because in the warm months it can cause issues if your trying to keep eggs for a week to get a batch together .. air conditioning is no good .. outdoors fluctuates too much .. the fridge it is .. i suggest the 'crisper' drawer to reduce moisture loss, ideally turn them twice a day, lay em on a towel or something so theyre not bumping around, and imo a week is really it .. you can push more time but your mortality rate starts increasing exponentially 'in or out' of the fridge .. but yeah, i got a whole batch of about 25 i took out of the fridge roasting in the bator as we speak, alive and kickin ...
oh, another thing, when you take them out of the fridge, DO, let them acclimate to room temp ideally in the ac so they dont sweat, thats bad juju .. i usually load them directly in the bator with the top off if your already set up and know the settings are right ..then after they chill a couple hours, turn the bator on and get um rockin ..

 

[Selsharesthan]

I use a modified mini fridge for storing my eggs. I removed the thermostat entirely, connected the 2 wires (this only works with a 2 wire thermostat I believe), and replaced the old thermostat with an inline LUX WIN100 digital thermostat. There are cheaper digital thermostats at Walmart as well. Then I run the thermostat into the inside of the fridge, cut slots in the magnetic tape seal for the cords to just fit through, and tape the cords into place so that they're immovable. Inside the fridge I place a jar of water with a sterile dish towel hanging down from the upper shelf grill into the water as a wick. This keeps the humidity higher than a fridge normally gets. I also wrap the freezer/cold diffuser with another hand towel and change it daily to prevent dripping, and I store the eggs at a 45 degree angle, turning daily. I never keep them for more than a week before hatching. Hope this helps.

 

[Susan Skylark]

I’m running a little hatch along experiment right now, day 10 comparing fridge eggs and turning during storage (or not) and effect on development/hatching. I started with 33 quail eggs and am down to 18 (open a few as we go along, I can only handle a dozen chicks!). All eggs were between 4-7 days old when placed in incubator, 2/3 were in the fridge for that entire time. Had 2 infertile, one day 3 dead, but the rest are chugging along just fine. I will say refrigeration doesn’t affect development or early embryonic death rates in this little study (we’ll see what happens to hatch rates!). Whether it prolongs viability is another issue entirely, another experiment may happen?