Help, is 2 of 9 a good hatching rate for shipped eggs?

windyridgefarm

Songster
13 Years
Joined
Dec 10, 2009
Messages
191
Reaction score
28
Points
216
Location
Granville, MA
I would like to get your opinion and advice. I purchased hatching eggs on ebay. I was not impressed by the way they were packed. The guy did not even bother to clean them before he wrapped them in a paper towel and put them in an egg carton surrounded by pieces of scrap styrofoam blocks and old rags in a 6x12 priority mail box. Two of the eggs arrived with fine cracks so I put nail polish on them as someone sujjested on here. I was concerned that the egg shells seemed a bit thin but thought all would go well. I put them under a gentle and experienced hen and waited with high hopes. The eggs are from two lines of blue ameraucanas and half were a nice shade of blue and others are green. (If you go on ebay you will be able to know who the seller is.)
The seller seemed like a nice guy and asked me to let him know how the hatch went and send him pictures as they grew. When I told him that only two chicks hatched out of nine eggs. He told me that I was right on target and that was a typical hatch rate. I told him I was disappointed to get only two chicks. He told me I could have the batch of eggs that did not sell on ebay that week. I assumed he meant that he would send them if I paid the postage but he later told me that I could have them for the same price as before. I believe that violates ebay rules so I didnt do it, besides if I am going to pay the same price why not protect myself and go through ebay and be able to leave feedback etc... I have not hatched shipped eggs before. I have heard that you get a lower hatch rate but I can not believe it should be that low or else why would people pay so much for hatching eggs.
(Another batch of eggs I got at the same time were packed very well. The eggs were clean and wrapped in bubble wrap instead of paper towels in a foam egg carton, crumpled newspaper instead of rags and scrap styrofoam blocks and a 8x12 box instead of 6x12. Those eggs arrived in perfect condition and had a much better hatch rate. To top it off the postage was less too, $11 instead of $15.)
I want to leave a fair feedback rateing but I also want to warn people if these are his typical results and they are not what they should be. What do you think?
 
Last edited:
I dont think theres any such thing as typical results when it comes to hatching shipped eggs. Every batch is different, since each batch goes thru different conditions going from hen to your incubator. Ive seen rates from 0% to 100%, even from the very best sellers.

Edited to say I try to always get a dozen or more, because I dont expect to hatch more than 3-5; more than that is a bonus to me.
 
Last edited:
First off you need to subtract the 2 broken ones so you really had 7 eggs . So now your percentage is 2 of 7 and with shipped eggs you are doing good if you get 50% hatch so 3.5 chics is half of the 7 healthy eggs. and you got 2 to hatch that is a little low but for shipped eggs you just don't ever know . I have had none to hatch with shipped and I have had a 90% hatch with shipped It is a big gamble .
 
Maybe the 2 of nine that hatched was typical for that seller, because of the shoddy packing job it sounds like he did. But everyone else is right, you are lucky to get any to hatch most of the time. Shipping eggs is a crap shoot, for both people. No matter how well you package them, altitude and handling can always make them unhatchable. I have had almost 100% hatch when I receive them, and then most of the time, I get none. Mostly due to broken air cells- I am at high altitude. I ship out 2 dozen at a time, extremely well packed, that I rarely get a person say even 1 is cracked, and yet I still get a range of anywhere from 4- 13 eggs hatching (reports from the buyers).
If your going to spend money to buy shipped eggs, a tip would be plan on that money wasted and none of the eggs hatching right off, therefore, you will not be disappointed if you get some, no matter how few.
big_smile.png
 
Thank you all. It is good to know where to set my expectations. I still think he needs to work on his packaging and the thin egg shells, but now I feel a little bit better. It was a little off for him to offer me the eggs that did not sell that week . It didnt feel right so I ended up going with another seller on here. I spent quite a bit more, hopefully it will be worth it, but now you have me worried LOL.
 

New posts New threads Active threads

Back
Top Bottom