(Help) How long I can keep an egg before going to incubate it?

[princewahaj]

Hello Friends,

How long I can keep an egg before going to incubate it?

On Tuesday, My rooster died. Then today, my hen gave a egg and its about 9-10 hours ago. The temperature of weather is about 22C in day lights and about 18C in night.

I am excited to go on the incubation shop to give a chance to their method. As my hen is not sitting on the egg already, so I could take the advantage of that work.

My beloved rooster, as I said above, is died and I am extremely sad for him. Other than that, today I became happy that I still have a chance to increase his family with God's mercy.

Straight forward few questions:

- How long we can keep an egg before going to incubate it? 1 day? 2 day? Till what time it will remain fertile?
- Can we touch the egg? because I read somewhere that touching or keeping the egg in hands cause harm for egg. Is it true? I would like to make it clear that holding the egg in hands is for about only 3-5 minutes for saving purpose.
- In which place I should store the egg so that it could remain fertile? Right now, I stored it in a plastic bag.

Immediate answers will be highly appreciated. Thanks in advance for your precious time.

 

[ozexpat]

Hello Friends,

How long I can keep an egg before going to incubate it?

On Tuesday, My rooster died. Then today, my hen gave a egg and its about 9-10 hours ago. The temperature of weather is about 22C in day lights and about 18C in night.

I am excited to go on the incubation shop to give a chance to their method. As my hen is not sitting on the egg already, so I could take the advantage of that work.

My beloved rooster, as I said above, is died and I am extremely sad for him. Other than that, today I became happy that I still have a chance to increase his family with God's mercy.

Straight forward few questions:

- How long we can keep an egg before going to incubate it? 1 day? 2 day? Till what time it will remain fertile?
- Can we touch the egg? because I read somewhere that touching or keeping the egg in hands cause harm for egg. Is it true? I would like to make it clear that holding the egg in hands is for about only 3-5 minutes for saving purpose.
- In which place I should store the egg so that it could remain fertile? Right now, I stored it in a plastic bag.

Immediate answers will be highly appreciated. Thanks in advance for your precious time.

you could hatch all egs she lays this week

please read the following.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/hatching-eggs-101

good luck

 

[AmyLynn2374]

Hi there. Sorry to hear about your roo. What you've heard about handling eggs, I am going to assume is due to the bacteria on our hands. You can handle eggs, it's just important to wash/sanatize your hands before handling. Bacteria from our hands can pass through the egg's shell and into the egg.
You can save/store your eggs right on your counter in a basket as long as your room temp isn't too warm. I wouldn't recommend keeping it in a plastic bag where there is no air circulation. Eggs are best to incubate in one week. Most recommend incubating the eggs 10 days or less. After two weeks the eggs significantly drop in hatchability. When you store your eggs it's best to turn them three times during the day as you would if you were incubating. Good luck and I hope you get some fuzzy butts to replace your roo.

 

[princewahaj]

you could hatch all egs she lays this week

please read the following.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/hatching-eggs-101

good luck

Thanks for sparing your precious time. I highly appreciate it. I did read your post immediately but didn't had time to reply.

 

[princewahaj]

Hi there. Sorry to hear about your roo. What you've heard about handling eggs, I am going to assume is due to the bacteria on our hands. You can handle eggs, it's just important to wash/sanatize your hands before handling. Bacteria from our hands can pass through the egg's shell and into the egg.
You can save/store your eggs right on your counter in a basket as long as your room temp isn't too warm. I wouldn't recommend keeping it in a plastic bag where there is no air circulation. Eggs are best to incubate in one week. Most recommend incubating the eggs 10 days or less. After two weeks the eggs significantly drop in hatchability. When you store your eggs it's best to turn them three times during the day as you would if you were incubating. Good luck and I hope you get some fuzzy butts to replace your roo.

Hi Amy,

Its very sad you know. We had our rooster for about 3.5 years. I had a sweet time with him. He was the decoration and finery of our home. Thank God that we have our hen...

Yeah. I hope touching my hand will not be a problem because I touched my hand only for less than a minute to store in plastic bag. The plastic bag is open from the time of store for air purpose + the temperature is about 20C in our room where it is stored. Are both things okay?

Thanks to spare your time mate. I highly appreciate your efforts and time.

 

[AmyLynn2374]

Hi Amy,

Its very sad you know. We had our rooster for about 3.5 years. I had a sweet time with him. He was the decoration and finery of our home. Thank God that we have our hen...

Yeah. I hope touching my hand will not be a problem because I touched my hand only for less than a minute to store in plastic bag. The plastic bag is open from the time of store for air purpose + the temperature is about 20C in our room where it is stored. Are both things okay?

Thanks to spare your time mate. I highly appreciate your efforts and time.

Yes, 20c should be fine. I would take it out of the bag though and just put it in a basket or bowl.

 

[princewahaj]

Yes, 20c should be fine. I would take it out of the bag though and just put it in a basket or bowl.

Thanks! So you recommend to put the egg in a bowl. The steel bowl's surface may be cold. Is it okay?

 

[AmyLynn2374]

Thanks! So you recommend to put the egg in a bowl. The steel bowl's surface may be cold. Is it okay?

You could always put a cloth in it, but it should be fine as long as it's not refrigerator cold.

 

[princewahaj]

Thanks. I moved the egg to the bowl.

 

[ozexpat]

There is lots of conflicting information on BYC. I encourage you to do your own research

This egg of yours seems very special to you. You should optimize chances of hatching.

Place the eggs upright in an egg carton with the pointy end down.

Store in a moderately cool (55-65F degrees), somewhat humid(>60%) place for storage.

Rotate your eggs a 3 times a day to keep the embryo from sticking. An easy way to turn all of the eggs at once is to place a thick book under one end of the carton, and later remove the book and put it under the other end of the carton, 3 times a day.

http://www.lohmann-information.com/content/l_i_46_artikel7.pdf

What breed are your birds?