How long can fertile chicken eggs keep before putting them in the incubator

[chickengeorgeto]

hatchiblity holds up to day 7. After that the chances of the egg hatching is greatly reduced. by day 14 hatchibility will be about 50%. It's also important to store the eggs with the pointy end facing down.

The above is true but also...........................
Keep your setting eggs in a dark and quite place at 55 degrees and 65% humidity. Turn the eggs 1, 3, 5, 7, or 9 times daily. Discard all imperfect eggs as soon as they are laid by having them for breakfast. An egg 21 days old while still sellable at Whole Foods, is usually a waste of time if you want to hatch it.

The truth of Emma14's post is that 15 eggs have long been the number of eggs supposedly in a setting of hen eggs.

 

[Murgatroyd]

In the text concerning husbandry & farming and attributed to Marcus Porcius Cato (Cato the Elder) it is recommended to set only an odd number of chicken eggs, no more than twenty-five. Perhaps that odd egg affects the pattern of eggs turning in the nest.

It also mentions geese:

They are usually set on nine or
eleven eggs, never more than fifteen, nor less than
five.

http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Cato/De_Agricultura/A*.html

 

[lauriejo]

This may not be popular to most on BYC but....
I have incubated eggs up to a MONTH old. And gotten very good hatch rate on them.
Yes, it appears that better results would come from 'fresh' eggs no more than 14 days old, but that has not been my experience. I tend to be  'no guts, no glory' when it comes to hatching. If I am incubating to increase a particular breed, more often than not I will try the eggs up to a month old as long as they are clean, stored pointy end down, cool, not too cold or too warm, amd I even will include a dampened cloth or paper towel in the styro egg storage container to keep the eggs from dehydrating.

What led me to the conclusion that eggs could be incubated a month after being laid is this:
Years ago, I had a wonderful, constantly broody gamehen that would collect and hide eggs until she was ready to sit. I had some chicks hatch from one of her sneaky stashes and the rooster and hen parents of a different breed had been looong gone (sold as a pair). Examining the shells showed that several eggs had been in her stash awhile and they were the shape, size and color of the pair that I had let go.
So, I decided, that if a hen could save eggs in the outdoors for that amount of time, AND hatch them successfully, then I guessed that I might be able to also.

A note also, my hens loved stashing the eggs outdoors when they freeranged, and the eggs went through temp changes, high and low humidity, and even had surface soil, but they still managed to hatch all chicks successfully with no casualties.

That has been my experience. I am always willing to give a try regardless of egg age, as long as the air cell is intact, it has no major soiling, has been stored to the best of my ability

 

[lauriejo]

Ty so much for your info!! Ima bout to get an incubater made!!

 

[carlf]

Wild birds lay eggs for 8-14 days before setting.
So it holds to reason that fertile eggs kept at room temp will be good for up to 14+ days.
Don't wash them! washes off a protective coating.

 

[jennyhenny54]

This is a great thread! I just posted this exact question earlier! I am only getting about 2 or 3 eggs a day so I was wondering how to go about getting a decent number of eggs to incubate. Thank you!

 

[biblebecky]

This may not be popular to most on BYC but....
I have incubated eggs up to a MONTH old. And gotten very good hatch rate on them.
Yes, it appears that better results would come from 'fresh' eggs no more than 14 days old, but that has not been my experience. I tend to be 'no guts, no glory' when it comes to hatching. If I am incubating to increase a particular breed, more often than not I will try the eggs up to a month old as long as they are clean, stored pointy end down, cool, not too cold or too warm, amd I even will include a dampened cloth or paper towel in the styro egg storage container to keep the eggs from dehydrating.

What led me to the conclusion that eggs could be incubated a month after being laid is this:
Years ago, I had a wonderful, constantly broody gamehen that would collect and hide eggs until she was ready to sit. I had some chicks hatch from one of her sneaky stashes and the rooster and hen parents of a different breed had been looong gone (sold as a pair). Examining the shells showed that several eggs had been in her stash awhile and they were the shape, size and color of the pair that I had let go.
So, I decided, that if a hen could save eggs in the outdoors for that amount of time, AND hatch them successfully, then I guessed that I might be able to also.

A note also, my hens loved stashing the eggs outdoors when they freeranged, and the eggs went through temp changes, high and low humidity, and even had surface soil, but they still managed to hatch all chicks successfully with no casualties.

That has been my experience. I am always willing to give a try regardless of egg age, as long as the air cell is intact, it has no major soiling, has been stored to the best of my ability

Hi, what temperature do you store your eggs at?

 

[biblebecky]

This may not be popular to most on BYC but....
I have incubated eggs up to a MONTH old. And gotten very good hatch rate on them.
Yes, it appears that better results would come from 'fresh' eggs no more than 14 days old, but that has not been my experience. I tend to be 'no guts, no glory' when it comes to hatching. If I am incubating to increase a particular breed, more often than not I will try the eggs up to a month old as long as they are clean, stored pointy end down, cool, not too cold or too warm, amd I even will include a dampened cloth or paper towel in the styro egg storage container to keep the eggs from dehydrating.

What led me to the conclusion that eggs could be incubated a month after being laid is this:
Years ago, I had a wonderful, constantly broody gamehen that would collect and hide eggs until she was ready to sit. I had some chicks hatch from one of her sneaky stashes and the rooster and hen parents of a different breed had been looong gone (sold as a pair). Examining the shells showed that several eggs had been in her stash awhile and they were the shape, size and color of the pair that I had let go.
So, I decided, that if a hen could save eggs in the outdoors for that amount of time, AND hatch them successfully, then I guessed that I might be able to also.

A note also, my hens loved stashing the eggs outdoors when they freeranged, and the eggs went through temp changes, high and low humidity, and even had surface soil, but they still managed to hatch all chicks successfully with no casualties.

That has been my experience. I am always willing to give a try regardless of egg age, as long as the air cell is intact, it has no major soiling, has been stored to the best of my ability

Hi, what temperature do you store your eggs at?

 

[biblebecky]

This may not be popular to most on BYC but....
I have incubated eggs up to a MONTH old. And gotten very good hatch rate on them.
Yes, it appears that better results would come from 'fresh' eggs no more than 14 days old, but that has not been my experience. I tend to be 'no guts, no glory' when it comes to hatching. If I am incubating to increase a particular breed, more often than not I will try the eggs up to a month old as long as they are clean, stored pointy end down, cool, not too cold or too warm, amd I even will include a dampened cloth or paper towel in the styro egg storage container to keep the eggs from dehydrating.

What led me to the conclusion that eggs could be incubated a month after being laid is this:
Years ago, I had a wonderful, constantly broody gamehen that would collect and hide eggs until she was ready to sit. I had some chicks hatch from one of her sneaky stashes and the rooster and hen parents of a different breed had been looong gone (sold as a pair). Examining the shells showed that several eggs had been in her stash awhile and they were the shape, size and color of the pair that I had let go.
So, I decided, that if a hen could save eggs in the outdoors for that amount of time, AND hatch them successfully, then I guessed that I might be able to also.

A note also, my hens loved stashing the eggs outdoors when they freeranged, and the eggs went through temp changes, high and low humidity, and even had surface soil, but they still managed to hatch all chicks successfully with no casualties.

That has been my experience. I am always willing to give a try regardless of egg age, as long as the air cell is intact, it has no major soiling, has been stored to the best of my ability

Hi, what temperature do you store your eggs at?

 

[biblebecky]

This may not be popular to most on BYC but....
I have incubated eggs up to a MONTH old. And gotten very good hatch rate on them.
Yes, it appears that better results would come from 'fresh' eggs no more than 14 days old, but that has not been my experience. I tend to be 'no guts, no glory' when it comes to hatching. If I am incubating to increase a particular breed, more often than not I will try the eggs up to a month old as long as they are clean, stored pointy end down, cool, not too cold or too warm, amd I even will include a dampened cloth or paper towel in the styro egg storage container to keep the eggs from dehydrating.

What led me to the conclusion that eggs could be incubated a month after being laid is this:
Years ago, I had a wonderful, constantly broody gamehen that would collect and hide eggs until she was ready to sit. I had some chicks hatch from one of her sneaky stashes and the rooster and hen parents of a different breed had been looong gone (sold as a pair). Examining the shells showed that several eggs had been in her stash awhile and they were the shape, size and color of the pair that I had let go.
So, I decided, that if a hen could save eggs in the outdoors for that amount of time, AND hatch them successfully, then I guessed that I might be able to also.

A note also, my hens loved stashing the eggs outdoors when they freeranged, and the eggs went through temp changes, high and low humidity, and even had surface soil, but they still managed to hatch all chicks successfully with no casualties.

That has been my experience. I am always willing to give a try regardless of egg age, as long as the air cell is intact, it has no major soiling, has been stored to the best of my ability

Hi, what temperature do you store your eggs at?