Eggs... Shipping distance VS Hatch rate

[walkswithdog]

Quote:
How do you address that? I'm expecting extra special eggs in the mail and want to give them the best possible chance at a good hatch.

PS. if I ever get to go to Asia I'll do my best to bring some eggs.

I weigh them. When I candle I check the air cell size. Even tracing it on some of the eggs Often shipped eggs start out drier than they should be. Sometimes they continue to be drier (the air cell too large for incubation age). Those get a higher humidity during incubation and are watched closely at hatch.

I have found keeping a close eye on moisture loss really helps, and being sure to try and stabilize the aircells if they're scattered or loose when they get here.

And then my shipped hatch rates went up nicely.

 

[Akane]

From texas I got eggs from seramasun on ebay and had 100% develop from both shipments but for various reasons had a low hatch on one set and probably 75% on the next. A few people have expressed dislike in the type of his birds though. The ones from florida are from lkr337 on ebay. I actually ordered a mix of oeg, jap, serama but their oeg and jap stopped laying so they sent me a bunch of serama eggs. I don't have any adults yet but I am in love with 2 tiny little black and yellow chicks I hatched from those. They are half the size of my japanese bantam chicks. My husband who was complaining about money spent on eggs saw those 2 tiny black chicks and immediately asked me how we get more.

 

[walkswithdog]

LOL I know that feeling - about staring at them and going -- oh. My little black mottled babies are like that, then again so is the little chocolate and the pair of god-knows-what-colors. Seramas are just soo tiny. And saving the one wee mottled made my day. He tried so hard to hatch and then just couldn't get going. I'm getting major nursing skills here.