Egg Shelf Life

enggass

Crowing
13 Years
Mar 8, 2010
1,687
69
311
Mid-Coast Maine
What is the common shelf life for eggs that are shipped?
How long are they: at the breeders collected and before being shipped - then mail time - then settle time... before going into the incubator?
Is it crucial that when you get them they go as quickly into the incubator?(after the settling period) or is there some wiggle room.
I'm sure it depends on how quickly the supplier ships them out, but what is the norm? ie How old is the egg once it gets to me?
I ask because I plan on getting some eggs from 2 sources this Spring and want to hatch them at the same time. One may come sooner than the other however.
I am going to try and sync it for same day arrival but we are talking about the USPS:)
Sorry for the babble...
 
Most will tell you between 12 to 14 days however you want them to arrive before they are 10 days old, as the closer the eggs are to the 10th day the eggs fertility will start to drop alot.
When the eggs arrive you want to set them for a minimum of about 12 hrsto allow for settling.

The following is information I learned the hard way and from others experiences so I hope my lesson will help you out.
Hopefully the person you are buying from will immediately pack and ship the eggs to you. (I bought from a person that pulled the eggs on a Tuesday but did not ship til Friday)

Normally eggs are shipped by Priority mail through USPS. Please note that the USPS does not guareentee their scheduled arrival date for Priority mail even though they advertise it for 2 to 3 days. It can take longer (much to the dismay and frustration to the person frantically waiting for the eggs arrival). (The eggs she shipped on Friday got held up by the USPS and took 7 days to be delivered. I received the eggs as 10 day old eggs. I did contact the postal service to check on the shipment and the customer service individual very rudely pointed out that they do not guareentee the Priority shipments.)

If you want the arrival guareenteed then you will need to take the step to ask the seller to send the eggs by Express mail for Overnight shipment. This will cost you more but you will get the guareentee of the eggs arriving on time. (Also, the postal service does sell insurance so that if a shipment gets lost or damaged they are then required to reimburse you for the loss. I have not checked to see if this covers eggs but it may be worth checking on. Especially if you are buying high quality breeder eggs that cost more.)

Please be aware that the USPS and any shipper for that matter will not always handle the package with care no matter how the box is marked and that the package will most likely go through different hands on its way to you.

Hope you have a stress free and happy hatching experience. Best to Ya!
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