Hatching store bought eggs~ Whole Foods vs. Trader Joes

[speedy2020]

I tried Whole Foods once and none fertilized.

 

[The Chickeneer]

K then, Im officialy not using Whole Foods

..........TJ hatch tips anybody?

 

[MyNameIs86]

We have a TJ here and i'm just itching to get a box of fertile eggs.
Do you just go and buy a box or do they have to be freshly put in?

 

[debs_flock]

Just pick them off the shelf. Check the julian date stamp on the end of the carton (3 digit number) and pick the newest one you can find. That will be the pack date. As an example, eggs packed today would have a julian date of 063.

I opened the box and made sure there didn't appear to be any funky shell, bumps, funny shape, etc. I'll admit, when I found the carton I wanted, I did swap out one egg from a different carton.



Good luck,
Deb

 

[The Chickeneer]

Now i know what label to look for

 

[ldaudist]

My 5th grade son wanted to hatch chicks for a science project. He needed a Hypothesis so we came up with; "Refrigeration of fertile chicken eggs will decrease but not eliminate the viability of fertile eggs". We then got 2 dozen eggs from the 4H, 1 dozen from Trader Joe's, and 1 dozen from Whole Foods. When I was at Trader Joe's I got what was on the shelf. Couldn't find the fertile eggs at Whole Foods so I asked for help. Ended up asking the guy to check the back for the freshest he had. The date on the eggs from WF was 6 days fresher than TJ's. We were told by the 4H that we would get a 50 to 60% hatch rate. From TJ's we only hatched 1 of the 12. From Whole Foods we got 8! out of 12. From the 2 doz 4H eggs we only got 10 (3 more developed but failed to hatch). We also had 1 more from WH and another from 4H that I did eggtopsy's on and determined the chicks were so large in the shell they couldn't turn to completely zipper the egg. If I had assisted just a little I think they would have survived. It was my first time hatching and I learned a lot. If I were you I would definitely not give up on Whole Foods; just ask them when they'll get a shipment in and get the freshest eggs you can. Let them warm up for 12 hours or so before putting them in your bator and keep a close eye on the humidity as well as the temp. We found the temp to stay very constant but the humidity to be much more variable. I also learned that eggs layed in the spring and fall are more likely to be fertile than the summer or winter. Good Luck.

 

[The Chickeneer]

Wow, it looks like WH really worked for you guys

. What breeds did you get out of the dozens from TJ n WH? Thanks

 

[ldaudist]

I don't know what the breeds are. We have one from TJ's. It was a white egg and a pale yellow chick.
From 4-H we have 2 black chicks that came from dark brown eggs & 2 that look like chipmunks and came from green eggs.
There are 14 that range from a pale yellow to a golden reddish color - 8 of the 14 are Whole Foods and 6 are 4-H. I'd say there are fewer that gave the reddish hue; so maybe the paler ones are from Whole Foods. Hope the photos help. The eggs I got from the 4-H were aprox $7/doz. You can get a variety from them: green, brown, tan, white.
Maybe somebody that knows chickens a lot better than I do can tell you what they are. All I know is they are darn cute.

 

[april k]

So..... I'm reading this and wondering.... Are these regular TJ eggs in the dairy section? I am totally intrigued!

 

[clucknpeck]

Hi everyone! I know nothing about this subject but I have to say, I am SO intrigued! I am getting my first incubator this week. I started chickening about 10 weeks ago but have done so much research and have become quickly obsessed with learning about chickens. So it only seemed natural to try my hand at incubating. I have been stalking this board and learning that I have so much to learn about hatching now! I had no idea that you could hatch eggs that have been refridgerated. I guess I kind of assumed the embryo was no longer viable after being subjected to cold temperatures.
How long can they remain viable? How is this even possible?
I am very excited to try this!