Hatching percentage

[John Chicken GB]

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I had a delivery (Special 1st class mail) The courrier said , after I had asked him if he'd been gentle with my eggs , Dont ask me mate , this package has bean in five or six vans before this one ! So , fast track doesnt mean extra care track . No Travelling at all is probably the best method , or if its the only way then collect them yourself , no-one to blame then ! Good luck All ! lol:/

 

[John Chicken GB]

Eggs through the mail is far too risky and will break the bank in the end . Not the fault of the producer although HE KNOWS that only 20% are likley to hatch ! Ethics issue here me thinks ???

 

[Gypsy07]

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Yup, I had a couple of lousy shipped egg hatches (2/10 and 0/12) before I started hatching eggs from my own birds and instantly got hatch rates in the high 80%s...

 

[coldupnorth]

Hatch rates for my own are good 90%.

Shipped eggs not so good.
1 out of 23 (silkies and blue orpingtons) - luckily the welsummers where close to the same age so the lone orpington has friends
8 out of 13 welsummers (happy about these

)
0 out of 8 orpingtons (this one was the incubators fault - digital thermostat wasn't reading correctly and discovered it too late)
Trying some more under my broodies and an incubator - will know how that goes in a couple of weeks. Too hard to candle some of the dark eggs.

 

[Gypsy07]

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Well, nobody is forcing anyone to buy shipped eggs. Caveat emptor and all that, but people will always be willing to take a chance on shipped eggs in order to get hold of rare and unusual breeds that aren't available locally. Me personally, well, I wasn't willing to make a (minimum!) 500 mile round trip just for some eggs so i took a chance on shipped ones, and got two healthy cockerels of the breed I was desperate for. Overall, I was happy with the result...

 

[John Chicken GB]

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OH NO! Bet you were devestated about the duck eggs..... I just don't get it! Every single egg we get from our chickens are fertile!! EVERY ONE!!!! So, why when you receive via mail, some aren't fertile??? Are there not enough roosters in the pens with the hens??? I just don't get it!!!!!

I'm already crying about my eggs. 1 chick. That's it. $55 chick at that. And I had to hatch it myself. I really, really, really wanted a few Ameraucana's. I should be grateful I have the one. Today I ordered 8 Maran hatching eggs. Depending on how it goes, I might not be buying any more hatching eggs. Which, my fiance knows I'm upset ,and says, "Oh we can order more Ameraucana eggs"......but I'd have to wait all over again........Oh well.

Thanks though.....golly 12 eggs and none hatched....WOW!

Are you wanting chickens or just wanting to hatch them yourself? Have you ever considered just buying baby chix via a hatchery (i.e. McMurry's, Ideal, chickensforbackyards.com and etc.)? Get the kind and usually the sex you want and then when they start laying then you can put those eggs in the bator to satisfy your hatching fix.

Thats the way forward I think . Good call ! lol

 

[John Chicken GB]

Re posted eggs !We have all been sucked in to attempting the 'Transported ' route ,but lets face it , it doesnt work very well (understatement) I dont want to put people out of business , but the suppliers , they know just as well !!!!!

 

[NC29mom]

Quote:
OH NO! Bet you were devestated about the duck eggs..... I just don't get it! Every single egg we get from our chickens are fertile!! EVERY ONE!!!! So, why when you receive via mail, some aren't fertile??? Are there not enough roosters in the pens with the hens??? I just don't get it!!!!!

I'm already crying about my eggs. 1 chick. That's it. $55 chick at that. And I had to hatch it myself. I really, really, really wanted a few Ameraucana's. I should be grateful I have the one. Today I ordered 8 Maran hatching eggs. Depending on how it goes, I might not be buying any more hatching eggs. Which, my fiance knows I'm upset ,and says, "Oh we can order more Ameraucana eggs"......but I'd have to wait all over again........Oh well.

Thanks though.....golly 12 eggs and none hatched....WOW!

Are you wanting chickens or just wanting to hatch them yourself? Have you ever considered just buying baby chix via a hatchery (i.e. McMurry's, Ideal, chickensforbackyards.com and etc.)? Get the kind and usually the sex you want and then when they start laying then you can put those eggs in the bator to satisfy your hatching fix.

None of the hatcheries offer Ameraucana chicks.......

. I've been watching the 1 chick that did hatch. Should I be worried he/she may not be ok upstairs? Seems to be ok...running around, eating, drinking and such....just makes me wonder b/c the other eggs were horrible when I opened them.

Does anybody ever hatch any eggs from the mail and the chicks/chickens end up not being all there (upstairs??)??

Still on the prowl for Ameraucana hatching eggs within driving distance. The only thing is, I just don't trust everything I read. And just because the egg is green/blue...doesn't mean it's a true Ameraucana. I have bought a few chickens at the auction, and needless to say, both times have been bitten. 1st time thought I was buying dominq & RIR but got BR & NHR. This past weekend I bought a BTW jap hen & 2 chicks......well, 1 of the chicks is solid white. If you have ever been to a poultry auction, then you know what I'm talking about. The auctioneer goes by what the seller tells him. And, you can't always see inside some of the crates. The auctioneer had a listing last weekend of 1 roo and 6 hens (RIR)...well, the crate was one with very small openings, so almost impossible to see. A guy happened to open the box............................and guess what????? THERE WAS 1 HEN AND 6 ROOSTERS! I have learned to not bid on ANYTHING in a crate where you cannot see the animal. Makes me think the seller is trying to hide something........... Plus, above all, I don't like bringing chickens home that I have no idea where they came from. Chickens can be carriers of diseases without actually be sick at that particular time. I would hate to bring a bird home only to infect my entire flock. Currently, I put them away from the flock for 3-4 weeks before introducing to my flock.....but even that isn't foolproof!!

Thanks for everybody's input. I see I am right along there with the majority. (makes me feel better)

 

[John Chicken GB]

Quote:
Well, nobody is forcing anyone to buy shipped eggs. Caveat emptor and all that, but people will always be willing to take a chance on shipped eggs in order to get hold of rare and unusual breeds that aren't available locally. Me personally, well, I wasn't willing to make a (minimum!) 500 mile round trip just for some eggs so i took a chance on shipped ones, and got two healthy cockerels of the breed I was desperate for. Overall, I was happy with the result...

Caveat emptor - Is that Buyer beware , or I see you coming ?

 

[Katy]

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Yes, shipped eggs are certainly a gamble, but it is possible to get a good hatch from them. The best I ever got was 11 out of 13 and someone got I think it was 12 out of 14 eggs that I sent out this year. Yes, the odds of those kinds of hatches aren't real good, but it is possible.

I have both bought and sold hatching eggs and the ones I've sold I've almost always sold by auction.....I hate pricing them and that way the buyer decides what they're willing to risk.

Sometimes it's the only way to get the quality and breeds of birds you want.