Fertilized eggs?

[seussiii]

I've recently started selling duck eggs on craigslist. I'm getting a ton of people asking for fertilized eggs.

I have 2 drakes and 4 ducks so I'm pretty sure they are but for those of you that DO sell them fertilized... how do you tell? I don't want to market them as such unless i know for sure...

Bonus question.... How much do you mark up a fertilized egg? I'm selling normal eggs $4 per dozen

 

[MagpieDucks]

The yolk will have a small bullseye on it. I will see if I can find a picture.

As for price what breeds are your ducks? Do you just have one breed?

 

[Bills vs Beaks]

You dont really get a guarantee they are fertile. Generally, you watch the males and see if they mount all the girls, or if for some unearthly reason ignore a certain hen. Then you crack a few eggs, as said, and see if they are fertile. Thats pretty much the best you can do, for those of us that hatch eggs on our own, anyway. I think if youre gonna buy hatching eggs from anywhere other than a bonafide eggs selling hatchery, you gotta accept that a few might not work

 

[MagpieDucks]

This is not my picture. Bullseyes on the fertile eggs, white dot on infertile.

 

[seussiii]

As for price what breeds are your ducks? Do you just have one breed?

Nice! Ok they are fertilized. My ducks are Anconas. I have never incubated so i'm not that experienced but what do you tell them to cover yourself? "Fertilization is not guaranteed and a small percentage may not develop"?

Few more questions! and thanks for the help so far....

When sold as fertilized do they need to be within a certain amount of days old? I figured refrigeration would probably kill them too?

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

Nice! Ok they are fertilized. My ducks are Anconas. I have never incubated so i'm not that experienced but what do you tell them to cover yourself? "Fertilization is not guaranteed and a small percentage may not develop"?

Few more questions! and thanks for the help so far....

When sold as fertilized do they need to be within a certain amount of days old? I figured refrigeration would probably kill them too?

Viability declines in eggs over 10 days old. Optimally, they should be stored wide end up in cool temps (55 f) and *turned*...easily accomplished using an egg carton with one end elevated to 45 degrees and switching the*up* end twice a day

 

[Bills vs Beaks]

My ducks are Anconas.

Rarer breed. you could maybe get 5 dollars for em....people usually pay 5 bucks to backyard breeders for day olds, soo......

I have never incubated so i'm not that experienced but what do you tell them to cover yourself? "Fertilization is not guaranteed and a small percentage may not develop"?

Thats what Id say! As long as people go into eyes open that they might not hatch.....
Id even go so far as to say a percentage wont develop. If they all do, bonus for em!

Viability declines in eggs over 10 days old. Optimally, they should be stored wide end up in cool temps (55 f) and *turned*...easily accomplished using an egg carton with one end elevated to 45 degrees and switching the*up* end twice a day

And then that. If you can get em sold in 3-4 days, Id say ok to leave em out on the counter. When we hatched eggs, they were about 3 days old, just out on the counter. Worked ok for me

 

[sylviethecochin]

Nice! Ok they are fertilized. My ducks are Anconas. I have never incubated so i'm not that experienced but what do you tell them to cover yourself? "Fertilization is not guaranteed and a small percentage may not develop"?

Few more questions! and thanks for the help so far....

When sold as fertilized do they need to be within a certain amount of days old? I figured refrigeration would probably kill them too?

Most of the people on ebay say that they check until they get a fertility percentage. Given the details of the ads (three hens? laying badly? And you're cracking for fertility percentages while selling eggs? Liiiaaar.)

Refrigeration does impact fertility rates negatively, but I've taken eggs out of the fridge and my broodies have hatched them. Eggs start loosing fertility after nine days (Most of my OEG bantam hens will sit a nest of fourteen and hatch thirteen, so that fits) Eggs are usually shipped within three days of lay, I think. Don't wash them--many hatchers get touchy about that (it removes the blume) Ship with a "Fertile Hatching Eggs, do not X-ray" sign for the post office.

Your best resource might actually be hobby sellers on Ebay. They have a lot of examples of ads--see which ones you like and plagiarize, plagiarize, plagiarize. It might also be a good place to look for common pricing rates.

 

[MagpieDucks]

Nice! Ok they are fertilized. My ducks are Anconas. I have never incubated so i'm not that experienced but what do you tell them to cover yourself? "Fertilization is not guaranteed and a small percentage may not develop"?

Few more questions! and thanks for the help so far....

When sold as fertilized do they need to be within a certain amount of days old? I figured refrigeration would probably kill them too?

Try to sell only eggs that are under 10 days old. As far as price I would go at least 30$ for a dozen or about 3$ per egg. Probably higher. They are a rare breed as mentioned above. And yes, store fat end up (pointy end down) in an egg carton in a cellar or basement. (around 60* F for waterfowl eggs.) It is usually best to test fertitily yourself with an incubator, and give them a percentage, so that they know what to expect, and to say, that there results are completely out of your control. Hope this helps.

ETA: I forgot to mention, try to keep the nest especially clean when selling eggs for hatching, so that you don't have to wash them. Same goes for eating too.

 

[Bills vs Beaks]

It is usually best to test fertitily yourself with an incubator, and give them a percentage, so that they know what to expect, and to say, that there results are completely out of your control. Hope this helps.

I think thats a pretty good idea