Have you bought shipped eggs or sold eggs & shipped? OUTCOME?

[RedRoosterFarm]

Hi, I sell eggs and buy eggs too. I have shipped all over the US and bought from all over the US. I have bought eggs that have hatched and that have not hatched. I have shipped in hot weather and cold weather.
I had someone buy some eggs the other day and they were shipped 2 states away and not hot weather. The person put all eggs under broody hens to hatch. I sent at least 3 extras or more. The person got a total of I believe 15 eggs. They emailed me that the hens hatched only 5 chicks and 2 died 1st day. The person was very nice. I checked the shipping and it took 2 days and did not sit in the heat(i dont think they did) I asked if the hens were good setters and they said yes and I asked if it was hot and they said no then I said it could of been bounced around in shipping but I didnt know and I was real sorry. I collect eggs fresh in 2 to 3 days and keep in basement nice and cool. It has not been a hot year in Wa. like 70's if we are lucky so no heat issues. I hatch in 2 GQFs here and get around 90-94% hatch rate and thats if I put them in and dont check them or put water in the bator. I ship my eggs in polyfoam and no broken eggs. The person told me there were a lot of clear eggs. I know my fertility and its good so why clear or what would you do? I do all I can on my end and some customers get good hatch while others get crappy hatch. I bought eggs last year for over 400.00 and out of approx 35 to 38 eggs I hatched 13. I was thrilled. What are everyones thought on this? Do you refund? do you ship more? I put in every add that I can not be responsible once they leave my hands and always add 3 to 8 extra. I offer free pickup locally. I cant afford to refund or ship more when I do all I can. Suggestions, thoughts or ideas please? What would you do? I have sold over 1000 egg auctions in the last 4 years and 1 time I had a bad customer try to scam me and I fought her through ebay and she left bad feedback but out of all auctions I only had her bad fb never anyone else.

 

[Sir Birdaholic]

Shipped eggs is like shooting craps. Sometimes you win, sometimes you loose. I'm not talking for everyone, but when I don't get a good hatch from my "mail-order" eggs, I just mark it down as a loss. I wish everyone understood the hazards of shipped eggs. I once bought 8 peacock, & 32 bantam eggs & got 1 Bantam out of the hatch. I just looked at it as my $110 bird!

 

[redhen]

She got 5 chicks to hatch. (and under a broody too!) What the heck else does she want?? Geesh...

 

[RedRoosterFarm]

Thats kinda what I think. I just got 20 showgirl eggs and 14 were clear and 6 were hatched and I have bought eggs that non hatch and I kinda figure that happens.
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[HEChicken]

I don't think you owe a refund - shipping eggs is a risk and reasonable buyers understand that.

 

[BarefootMom]

I have shipped eggs and have bought eggs. I don't know if the eggs I shipped ever hatched or not- never heard from the BYCer again about them. All the eggs I have had sent to me- ZERO hatch rate.

I don't have much faith in shipping eggs. I'd rather buy locally or use my own eggs for hatching.

 

[Sir Birdaholic]

I usually buy from reputable breeders, but sometimes you just come across a new breed that is a must, & buy on impulse! Having a large incubator is dangerous & expensive!

 

[ReikiStar]

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Exactly. Except for obviously bad packaging and sending old eggs, the shipper can't be held responsible. Just because an egg doesn't break does not mean it wasn't jarred enough to cause problems within the egg. Why don't people understand that?

I watched a video of a guy that ships eggs. He had his son toss the box all around. The eggs didn't break. What would have made that video convincing was if he did a time lapse showing those same eggs HATCHED. Not broken eggs, only mean...the eggs didn't break. It says nothing of their hatchability. Considering hens don't play lacrosse with their eggs...its no wonder one must expect a lower hatching rate with shipped eggs.

 

[mom'sfolly]

I wouldn't refund. I've had three hatches with shipped eggs. The first, and my first time hatching I had the highest success rate. The second batch I had zero hatch. I put this one down as poor packaging by the seller. They were silkie eggs and the box was about 8x8x8 inches. I think the box was so small and light that it got tossed around enough that any hope of hatching just wasn't there. The third hatch was mixed. I think in this case most of the eggs were good, but my incubator was wonky.

As a buyer, I am smart enough to know that once the eggs are out of the shipper's hands anything can happen. I also know that I'm not a seasoned enough hatcher to blame anyone else for my lack of viability. With my second two hatches, I added my own mutt eggs as a control. They hatched with the silkie eggs that did not hatch and had the same poor hatch rate as the shipped eggs in the last hatch.

SO...seller or shipper error with silkie eggs, my error with the third hatch.

 

[RedRoosterFarm]

Thanks, now im not feeling that bad...

mom'sfolly :

I wouldn't refund. I've had three hatches with shipped eggs. The first, and my first time hatching I had the highest success rate. The second batch I had zero hatch. I put this one down as poor packaging by the seller. They were silkie eggs and the box was about 8x8x8 inches. I think the box was so small and light that it got tossed around enough that any hope of hatching just wasn't there. The third hatch was mixed. I think in this case most of the eggs were good, but my incubator was wonky.

As a buyer, I am smart enough to know that once the eggs are out of the shipper's hands anything can happen. I also know that I'm not a seasoned enough hatcher to blame anyone else for my lack of viability. With my second two hatches, I added my own mutt eggs as a control. They hatched with the silkie eggs that did not hatch and had the same poor hatch rate as the shipped eggs in the last hatch.

SO...seller or shipper error with silkie eggs, my error with the third hatch.​