How long are fetile eggs good for before they go bad?

[Soonerguy33]

Need to know how long i can keep fertile eggs before they are bad..I'm waiting on another dozen that will be here Monday and i have some right now they were shipped on March 24th...How long are they good for?

 

[jeb251]

10 days but keep the cool and turn them twice a day

 

[RedfogsFlock]

Yup Jeb is right! After 10 days they're hatching rate dramatically drops. after the 7th day they lose 3%! I keep mine in a bowl, small end down, and have them all dated on one side, and X on the other. This way I know which way they should be facing.

 

[Akane]

Just because they were shipped march 24th doesn't mean they are only 3 days old now. If someone has very few hens of that breed the eggs might be 7 days old before they even ship them. I also think older eggs become damaged much sooner when shipped so your hatch rate will go down sooner. When collecting my own eggs I'll wait until the oldest are 10 days or occasionally 12-14 days before setting them but I would not leave shipped eggs sitting around past 7 days from when they were laid(not the date they were shipped) or you will risk wasting some of your money.