Hatching Percentages on SHIPPED Eggs.

[NateinFL]

I have been REALLY thinking it through on hatching eggs that have been mailed, and I am trying to come to an accurate percentage, or close to it, that represents what can be expected out of a shipment of hatching eggs. I think it would be a good idea for others to post, and I'm asking this as a favor actually, what percentage you have had hatch, out of the actual number of eggs shipped to you. Just a simple reply with the hatched eggs/number of total eggs, and I think the breed type would help as well. Also, if it was a really good hatch, please tell us where you got the eggs from.

This hatch rate should only apply to incubator hatchings where you are fairly confident that you did not have any mishaps in the incubation process.

I appreciate everyone's input.

 

[willowcol]

That is really hard to answer. I have had 100% hatch rates from shipped eggs, and also 0%. I really think it has to do with the mail carriers and not so much the sender.

 

[Lensters]

If I get any, I'll usually get 50-60%. Some shipments end up with a hatch of zero. Who know what the USPS did to them, or what they came from in the first place.

 

[ccoomber]

I had 0 % hatch from two shipped lots of 6 eggs and then 2/6 fertile eggs and 3/3. So varies alot.

 

[ozark hen]

I agree it depends on the postal people enroute. I have had disasterous hatches from the east coast and wonderful hatches from within my own state.

My sellers have packed them all very, very well. No complaints on the sellers at all.

 

[farrier!]

My last batch of shipped eggs was 2 ebay auctions. They shipped the eggs together, same box, same packing.
On the 8 eggs I really wanted I had 0 develop. On the others I had 6 out of 13. When I contacted the seller I was told she "checked the fetility of all eggs before shipping them and used the unfertile ones in her kitchen" she then went on to tell me "the postoffice must have handled the eggs badly"

I felt like asking if she super glued the eggs back together after she cracked them open to check for fertility. I then wanted to say sure! the post office open the package, shook just the 8 of the 21 eggs around and carefully repacked them.

I feel fertility and packing skills has a lot more to do with hatch percentage then anything else.

I did buy some eggs for red quail from a seller who claims they feed for egg strength and high fertility. I did get close to 100% from those eggs. I had other quail eggs shipped in the neat packing foam with holes that they had used but not as good but still decent hatch rate.

So the last thing I blaim is the post office.

 

[HBuehler]

0-100% However I'm sick of the PO being blamed when eggs are no good.I have had OLD eggs sent to me way past any reasonable viable time limit.I have had INFERTILE eggs sent to me.You can wrap an old or infertile egg perfectly but it won't make them hatch any faster so the PO gets blamed and they had nothing to do with it.
So far this year we have had hundreds of eggs shipped so these findings are not based on just one or two shipments...or my bators since they have no problem with hatching 100% from some sellers in the same bators as a lone $20 egg.All of our breeds are LF so no bantams and no other non chicken eggs.
Sorry If I posted the super egg sellers I would also have to post the sellers that sold old eggs,managed to put a dozen eggs into a tiny box way too small and all were smashed,the infertiles etc and that would not go over very well I'm afraid...plus not all of my eggs come from this board.
My best shipped hatches have been the furthest shipped eggs from me more than once because she has great fertility..
Edited to add my e-bay eggs have been NO worse than eggs from BYC some here have been my 0% hatch and right now a 1 out of 8 eggs...so this board makes it no less risky. BYC E-Bay Eggbid all have good and bad.

 

[toxo]

I don't have any experience of hatching eggs (soon to rectified) but I always check the Ebay ads. I'm amazed that all the sellers are playing the post office card with some refusing to compensate for any reason.
Sounds like a license to print money to me. They can put any old crap in the box and some of em even want you to agree to leaving feedback on receiving the package as part of the deal.

 

[MAllen]

My last hatch was with 31 eggs (mostly Buff Orpingtons) and I had 26 of them hatch. That's an 84% hatch rate. This was done with a new HovaBator 1588 with auto turner and it was my first time hatching eggs. All of the eggs came from eBay sellers.

 

[Ravyn]

I ordered eggs off of ebay(2 shipments). I had a total of 30 eggs. I ended up with 13 eggs going to day 20. Then I had an incubator issue. I ended up with 4 live babies. I think if my incy problem didn't happen, I would have had 13 out of 30.

I did have several eggs with air cell damage and some of the eggs where really small pullet eggs that never did grow. I cracked them open and I don't think they were fertile.

But even if I did get 13 chicks out of 30 eggs I would have been thrilled. Shipped eggs are a big gamble. Win some lose some.