First time ordering eggs online, need advice

[WGregge]

Hello,
I just ordered my first online eggs and there were 2 different kinds I wanted. The first batch shipped yesterday, the second batch is shipping today. However, I know that some of the eggs from the first batch were laid on the 22nd so they are the oldest eggs. Tracking is showing Monday and Tuesday for first and second batch, although I’m really crossing my fingers that they arrive sooner. My question is, Tuesday will be 8 days for the ones laid on the 22nd. I know a lot of people say after 7 days hatchability drops dramatically. So should I throw those in on Monday when I get them (after letting them rest for 12 hrs) or should I still wait and put them all in Tuesday?

Also, I know it is best to store fertilized eggs around 55ish degrees but I’m not sure that’s possible right now? It’s 85-95 degrees outside daily. I do have a garage but it gets quite hot. Is there any way I could create an environment of 55 degrees? Should I keep them in the house (70 degrees) during the day and put them in the garage at night? Temps have been in the 60s at night.

Maybe I’m way overthinking this but I just want the best hatch rate possible. Thanks for any advice!

 

[Acre4Me]

Good luck with your eggs! I’ve not yet dealt with shipped eggs, so no advice.

I have eggs from my flock in the incubator. While I was collecting them, I wanted to keep the oldest ones as cool as possible. I have the same issue as you...nowhere really cool enough. So, I considered a soft sided carry cooler which is large enough for an egg carton to sit horizontally, put an ice pack in the bottom and the eggs on a rack (so not touching the ice pack). Switch out ice pack as needed. However, instead I ended up using the a/c floor vent in an unused bedroom - it’s not quite cold enough (not 55F air), but pretty cold air. I put eggs into an egg carton and placed them on a baking cooling rack above the vent. This way they were close to the cold air. When I checked, they were definitely cool/cold to the touch.

 

[WGregge]

Good luck with your eggs! I’ve not yet dealt with shipped eggs, so no advice.

I have eggs from my flock in the incubator. While I was collecting them, I wanted to keep the oldest ones as cool as possible. I have the same issue as you...nowhere really cool enough. So, I considered a soft sided carry cooler which is large enough for an egg carton to sit horizontally, put an ice pack in the bottom and the eggs on a rack (so not touching the ice pack). Switch out ice pack as needed. However, instead I ended up using the a/c floor vent in an unused bedroom - it’s not quite cold enough (not 55F air), but pretty cold air. I put eggs into an egg carton and placed them on a baking cooling rack above the vent. This way they were close to the cold air. When I checked, they were definitely cool/cold to the touch.

I was also considering the cooler idea. Do you think the air vent would dry them out? I know they need high humidity before incubating

 

[Acre4Me]

I was also considering the cooler idea. Do you think the air vent would dry them out? I know they need high humidity before incubating

I considered this too, but I put them into a styrofoam egg carton that did not have any holes on the bottom. When I candled a final time before placing them, I did not see any volume difference (or noticeably larger air cell) from other eggs that were a few days younger. I also rotated the carton a few times to try to even out any variability.