hatching refrigerated eggs

[bibliophile birds]

i was out of town all weekend and came home to find my little silkie, Gretel, going broody. this is the first time for both of us, so i'm still unsure about exactly what to do. my major dilemma now is that, if she stays broody, she's not going to lay any more eggs. i will have eggs from my standard chickens to put under her, but i want to give her 1 or 2 of her own also. so the big question is, what are the chances of eggs refrigerated for less than a day up to a bit over a day successfully hatching? i've got fertilized eggs of hers that were collected while i was away that i'll happily shove under her if i think there is a chance. of course, she would pick while i was gone to decide she wanted to set.

i've heard of people hatching grocery store eggs before, but that is VERY rare. hopefully a day or so of refrigeration isn't too bad...

 

[klf73]

I say go for it, there have been plenty here that have done it, some with the eggs being in over a week. Just let them sit out to warm up before you try putting them under her

 

[BeardedLadyFarm]

Should be fine. I have 5 eggs in the incubator now that came from a fridge, and 4 of them are going strong. I looks like one started to develop then quit.

It can't be any more harmful than being shipped across the country...

 

[A.T. Hagan]

Last night we did our final candle of the turkey eggs I kept in my fridge until we were ready to incubate. 34 of 35 went into the hatching trays. Now they haven't actually hatched yet, but there are thirty four seemingly well developed chicks waiting to get out that spent their last days before going into the incubator in my refrigerator.

.....Alan.

 

[JordanFamily]

I keep mine in the fridge for up to 2 weeks before incubating and have always had good hatches...

 

[raimnel]

I bought mine from the store, they were in the fridge at least 2 days. I cracked 2 eggs to check fertility 1 was fertile the other was not. I put 10 in and 5 hatched. I put them on the counter for 24 hours first and I used an incubator.

go for it and good luck!!

 

[goldnchocolate]

Check out the threads of people who have hatched eggs that they've bought at Trader Joes

....and you know that if they have pretty good luck with those eggs you should have no problems with your eggs that have been in the fridge. Just bring them to room temp first. Good luck

 

[bibliophile birds]

A.T. Hagan :

Last night we did our final candle of the turkey eggs I kept in my fridge until we were ready to incubate. 34 of 35 went into the hatching trays. Now they haven't actually hatched yet, but there are thirty four seemingly well developed chicks waiting to get out that spent their last days before going into the incubator in my refrigerator.

exactly what i wanted to hear!

thanks for all the advice and the courage to just do it!​