Egg quality during winter

[P-01]

I'm in the U.S. northeast (temperature has been about 30s and 40s). Yesterday, I went to a local farm to pick up some fertile eggs, and candled them when I got home. Everything looked fine, but since they were cold to the touch, I waited a day and kept the eggs in room temperature before setting them.

Today, when candling right before setting, most of the eggs developed pretty large pores which I know is not ideal for hatching. I didn't have this problem during the summer (where I also left them out in room temp 24hours before setting). This is the second time during the cold weather that the eggs developed pores over night.

Wondering if this is a common issue, and if hatch rates in general are low during the winter???

Also, while I'm here - I usually turn eggs same day I set them, but I've been reading you should wait until after 24 hours to begin turning. Any thoughts on this?

Thanks!

 

[mcdze]

i never had any problems with cold eggs as long as they didnt freeze, and turning times is a minimal factor in hatchrate .. they need to be turned .. 3 times a day minimum .. i turn mine even before setting while im collecting up a good batch, but i think key is to avoid jarring them, thats NOT good, at all ... but ultimately i think the biggest factor is going to be is the rooster doing his job good lol ... if theyre not your birds you dont really know that ..

 

[ChickenCanoe]

The only thing I can imagine that would make the pores appear more prominent is that the cold makes the contents shrink.
It is best to turn eggs from the start, just like a hen does. That is because frequent turning the first couple weeks helps to develop the extra embryonic membranes (amnion, chorion, allantois) that feed the embryo.