Freezing eggs...But I want to hatch some..Any suggestions?

[cowpiesnhorseapplesfarm]

Hello All~
I have chickens(odviously) but we are severly cold here in MT. We are in the teens and minuses already. This cold I am not used too. We collect all day long. My problem is they eggs are freezing faster than I can collect. I do collect several times a day. But I need a better solution to the freezing eggs as we want to hatch. I have a beautiful Blue Splash Orpington Roo over some splashy Orp. hens. What would you do? I have straw in there. My observation is the minute I fill any waterers they almost instantly freeze so I m thinking this is what is going on with my eggs. Any and all advise would be great.
TIA,
Jami

P.S. We have no insulation(houses or buildings) surrounding our house just hay fields so its pretty darn cold here for us.

 

[silkiechicken]

Eggs will take longer than water to freeze due to proteins and fats. That said, if you try and collect hourly, you can probably let eggs warm up to room temp and still get chicks. There is a whole book on egg hatching for leghorns. A small percentage of eggs hatched after being stored at -20 for an hour or more!

 

[cowpiesnhorseapplesfarm]

Thanks maybe we will give it a try

 

[cackleberrycoop]

Hi

. What part of MT? We are in the Bitterroot valley and so far, unless they lay an egg or two at night, I am able to run out to the coop and pickup eggs about hourly without loosing them to the cold, so you must be in a colder part of the state than we are. Last year, when things go really, really cold on us, I had a few silly hens go broody, which really helped keep the eggs from freezing!! Gotta love those broodies. I would agree that if you do your best, and as long as the shell hasn't cracked, it's still worth a try hatching the eggs. Obviously, the cold will lower your hatch rate, but it's not the end all. Good luck out there in this winter wonderland!

 

[cowpiesnhorseapplesfarm]

Hello Neighbor~
I am in Belgrade. But we are surrounded and on 500+ acres of hayfields. Which means it gets really really cold. Bozeman seems to stay warmer. I think it has more to do with no building, or houses in the area with no trees

thats making it a little harder. I am going to try this. I was checking 3x a day we will go ahead and up it to hourly. None of my hens have gone broody so I'm stuck collecting them. We moved them to a smaller coop just cause none of the coops are insulated so they will stay warmer in smaller coop. Thanks for all the suggestions.
Jami