HELP!! Shipping eggs never came, what do I do?!!!

[bellah1]

I was suppose to receive 9 Aussie spotted duck eggs by today & they didn't show up.

By the way I know it was stupid to not have them shipped til after the holiday weekend but I really spaced out. Anyway they were laid from monday(11th) - Thursday(14th) and won't b delivered til Tuesday(19th) I assume since someone was home all day and there was no we missed u slip, that they might even still be in route. So how bad is this if they are just sitting at the post office til Tuesday? I emailed the lady who shipped them and asked her for the tracking # but haven't heard back. Should I pay her to send more or not? Is there a way to tell if they are still viable, how bad is the hatch rate gonna b because of this, ect. This is my first time getting eggs shipped so any advice would be amazing!

 

[bellah1]

So I talked to her & what happened is she paid for the two day shipping & got the tracking number but they only charged her for regular shipping which is like 1.75 cheaper. So my eggs r in Austin, Tx & not even scheduled to deliver until the 21st! Is there ANYONE who can give me some advice please!

 

[1muttsfan]

Unfortunately, the Post Office has reclassified Priority mail to 2-3 day delivery. There is no 2-day shipping anymore. This means that eggs shipped on Thursday are NOT guaranteed to arrive by Saturday. The more expensive - but much more certain - shipping option is next day mail.

When the eggs come treat them as any other shipped eggs, you may still get some birds to hatch.

 

[SilkieSensation]

Eggs have 10-14 days before losing viability & can even hatch when set at 3-4 weeks old. However, shipping itself reduces hatchability due to the rough handling they often encounter. Eggs should always be sent priority mail at the very minimum. If the shipper did not do this then she is at fault & needs to reship. If they were sent priority then she really can't be held accountable, especially if you requested a specific ship date. I always have eggs shipped on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday or Saturday (avoiding holiday weekends for a Sat ship) to make sure eggs don't sit extra days at the PO. The danger lies more in the treatment & temps eggs are exposed to rather than the time delay.

 

[bellah1]

Yea that sounds right cause she thought that she paid for next day but she said it was supposed to b 10.59 but they only charged her 8 something so I don't even think it went priority! I'm just worried, once I let them set and put them in the bator how long til I can tell they r definitely not going to develop? Also I've been told to let them set for 12 & 24hrs what do u think is best for this situation?

 

[donnavee]

Yea that sounds right cause she thought that she paid for next day but she said it was supposed to b 10.59 but they only charged her 8 something so I don't even think it went priority! I'm just worried, once I let them set and put them in the bator how long til I can tell they r definitely not going to develop? Also I've been told to let them set for 12 & 24hrs what do u think is best for this situation?

With the duck eggs I have incubated, I normally could see the blood vessels starting to develop by day 7. I am not an expert hatcher and I didn't want to overhandle them so I didn't candle before that. I had a terrible hatch rate with my shipped duck eggs last year but they definitely recommend letting then sit for at least 24 hrs before putting in the bator.

Good luck!

 

[SilkieSensation]

You need a minimum of 4 hours set time to allow them to come to room temp before setting. 24 hours is preferable. Then set them upright in cartons or turners inside the bator for another 2-3 days before turning them to allow air cells to stabilize. Depending on the breed of duck, you may be able to begin to see veining as early as day 4, however, especially with larger breed ducks or darker colored eggs it may take closer to 10 days. I never give up before day 14 for regular ducks or day 18 for Muscovies.

 

[bellah1]

Thank u so much everyone! SilkieSensation, I noticed that u have runners so I have a runner question.....my 4mo old runner hadn't started laying yet but I found her nest of 14 eggs out in the yard under the vines yesterday morning. I cracked one open & it looks fertile, I went looking because she seems to disappear for a few hours after dark. I checked this morning & there was a new egg. Anyway she's not sitting on the nest at all during the day & I've heard runners rarely get broody but if she made a nest & is only laying in there will she eventually start sitting all day once she feels there's enough eggs in it? Also if the one I cracked open was fertile then are the rest most likely fertile also?

 

[SilkieSensation]

If you found fertile eggs, chances are most of them are fertile but runners don't sit often. You would have more luck putting them in the bator. My girls just started back laying this week & temps dropped last night before I realized there were 4 eggs in the night shelter. My daughter had to pry them out of the mud this morning, all frozen solid & ruined. If she has 14 eggs in the nest & she is the only 1 laying then a lot of them are likely not any good by now, especially with being exposed to the elements. You can try incubating them, but be prepared for a lot of duds in this batch. Collect daily from now on if you plan to hatch & set once per week or at least every 2 weeks.

 

[bellah1]

If you found fertile eggs, chances are most of them are fertile but runners don't sit often. You would have more luck putting them in the bator. My girls just started back laying this week & temps dropped last night before I realized there were 4 eggs in the night shelter. My daughter had to pry them out of the mud this morning, all frozen solid & ruined. If she has 14 eggs in the nest & she is the only 1 laying then a lot of them are likely not any good by now, especially with being exposed to the elements. You can try incubating them, but be prepared for a lot of duds in this batch. Collect daily from now on if you plan to hatch & set once per week or at least every 2 weeks.

I was going to collect the new ones as she lays them(since I marked the first 13 I left in the nest & the new one is clean!) and put em in the bator once I have like 6. But I was thinking I would leave the 13 in the nest since I don't know how old they are and see what happens. Is it normal for runners to make nests & lay all their eggs in them & just not sit on them or is it not normal for either? I thought maybe since she did make the nest and sits on it after dark that maybe she will sit all the time soon. Do u think its worth a shot to leave a few in there & see what she does?