Hatched shipped eggs with birth defects

[stefzbiz]

Hello
I’m experienced with hatching eggs and shipped eggs. Black copper marans eggs) I let them rest, hand turned 3 times a day. I had them upright the whole incubation including lock down. Out of 11 that went to lock down 3 never pipped/quit. Two hatched hydrocephalic both I had to assist or they wouldn’t have hatched at all. One passed after a hour the other died about 18 hours later.

I was planning on having these guys go to-my olive Egger pen but no I’m afraid something is wrong with their genetics. The eggs spent 7 days in transit-got lost. I ordered them from eBay.
any advice is appreciated

 

[ChickenCanoe]

I've always been a fan of the USPS till the last year. Covid and management changes have made it a disaster. The delay in shipping may have been a problem. I shipped eggs to Puerto Rico and I'm assuming they were X-rayed. Most had deformities.

 

[ameliathedominant]

well one thing is DO NOT buy from ebay again lol. some breeders use those sites as a way to get rid of bad batches. honestly i would get a rooster and hatch your own

 

[333113]

I ship hatching eggs, and I hatch eggs that were shipped to me. It is so true that shipping is not what it used to be. The USPS conveyor sorting systems have up to 3-foot drops, and the only way to get around that is to opt for special handling charges. That still won't buy you even temperatures so the embryos won't stop/start, or a pot-hole free trip.

If you can get hatching eggs in person, your hatch rate will probably go up.

Before COVID-19 shut down so many of the shows and swap meets, I used to arrange ahead of time to bring eggs for people. I hope to be able to do that again soon.

Meanwhile, here's how I ship and incubate shipped eggs. It's an older post, but I still pretty much do it this way:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...-do-s-and-don-ts.744566/page-22#post-18429247

You can only control one end of the shipping process, and nothing in the middle. I hatched 3 out of 24 Dutch Hookbill eggs from the west coast last year, even though they were well-packaged and shipped next-day. The postal worker who left them on my step left the box upside down, contrary to the box markings. Not saying that an hour upside-down on my front step is the only reason the hatch rate was so low, but it's an example of the shipping events you can't control.

 

[JacinLarkwell]

Odds are it wasn't something on the sellers part

 

[stefzbiz]

well one thing is DO NOT buy from ebay again lol. some breeders use those sites as a way to get rid of bad batches. honestly i would get a rooster and hatch your own

I agree. That was the first and will be the last time.

 

[ameliathedominant]

ive heard of people buying ive online too and they come mostly dead. its very sad

 

[ameliathedominant]

the defect could also have been from getting too cold during shipping. ive heard of that hapening

 

[JacinLarkwell]

I ship hatching eggs, and I hatch eggs that were shipped to me. It is so true that shipping is not what it used to be. The USPS conveyor sorting systems have up to 3-foot drops, and the only way to get around that is to opt for special handling charges. That still won't buy you even temperatures so the embryos won't stop/start, or a pot-hole free trip.

If you can get hatching eggs in person, your hatch rate will probably go up.

Before COVID-19 shut down so many of the shows and swap meets, I used to arrange ahead of time to bring eggs for people. I hope to be able to do that again soon.

Meanwhile, here's how I ship and incubate shipped eggs. It's an older post, but I still pretty much do it this way:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...-do-s-and-don-ts.744566/page-22#post-18429247

You can only control one end of the shipping process, and nothing in the middle. I hatched 3 out of 24 Dutch Hookbill eggs from the west coast last year, even though they were well-packaged and shipped next-day. The postal worker who left them on my step left the box upside down, contrary to the box markings. Not saying that an hour upside-down on my front step is the only reason the hatch rate was so low, but it's an example of the shipping events you can't control.

Aren't hookbills hard hatchery anyways? Thanks for the link though, that's really helpful

 

[333113]

Aren't hookbills hard hatchery anyways? Thanks for the link though, that's really helpful

I have about 80% hatch rate of my own DHB eggs in my own incubators, and that may be because I tend to ship the freshest, cleanest eggs and keep the older and dirtier ones for myself.

Shipping definitely lowers the hatch rate for any egg, I think.