Hatching eggs, how long can they last ?

[joemorcos]

Hello,
I raise quail and chicken for a living, but recently the demand for quail eggs has decreased dramatically. I was thinking about selling hatching eggs. However no one here (i live in lebanon) is interested in hatching eggs. Shipping from lebanon to US usually takes 4-5 days and isn't too expensive. Can fertile eggs survive 5 days ? I always put my eggs in the incubator as soon as I collect them, so I don't know.
Thank you

 

[karlwakim]

I think they can easily last 5 days if the temperature is not too cold.

 

[dc3085]

Hello,
I raise quail and chicken for a living, but recently the demand for quail eggs has decreased dramatically. I was thinking about selling hatching eggs. However no one here (i live in lebanon) is interested in hatching eggs. Shipping from lebanon to US usually takes 4-5 days and isn't too expensive. Can fertile eggs survive 5 days ? I always put my eggs in the incubator as soon as I collect them, so I don't know.
Thank you

Most types of quail eggs maintian fertility for 10 days after laying. Be sure you are ordering from someone who is shipping eggs all layed in one day, that way they have 7-9 days left to make it to you.

You should always leave shipped eggs open at room temp for 12-24 hours before you incubate if possible.

 

[ChickenLegs13]

During the 18 days that my bator is working & recovering I accumulate eggs for the next hatch. I don't accumulate enough eggs to be highly selective so a lot of my quail eggs are 2 weeks old when I set them. They hatch fine but personally I'd never buy or sell that old of eggs as "hatching eggs."
If I were going to buy them mail order I'D want them laid that day or the day before or if somebody was going to give me some I'd pass if they were more than 10 days old.

 

[dc3085]

Another problem you're going to have is Xray machines. They're hard on embryos, and anything going through customs twice and the mail, bound to be xrayed a couple times.