How long do eggs stay fertile before you put them a incubator?

[Ethan'sChickencoop1]

I have fertile eggs but I would like to collect some more before I put them in a incubator so I can put them in all at once, so How long do eggs stay fertile before you put them a incubator?

 

[chickengeorgeto]

Eggs begin to lose their vitality the minute they are laid. After the first two weeks the hatachability plummets. At 21 days you can forget it.

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

10 days is generally where you start to see significant decline in viability for eggs stored under optimum conditions

 

[Ridgerunner]

It depends a lot on how you store them. The ideal temperature is around 55 degrees Fahrenheit. I can't remember the ideal humidity but high humidity is better than low. The eggs should be stored pointy side down (with the air cell up) or laid flat and turned a few times a day. If you lay them flat, put a mark on each side and roll them from one side to the other. If you store them pointy side up try to lean them about 45 degrees one way then turn them so they are leaning 45 degrees the other way. If you have an automatic turner you can take out of the incubator store them in that so it does the turning for you.

When a hen hides a nest to lay eggs before she starts incubating them she can lay eggs for two weeks and still get really good hatch rates. Those hens are good. If you store them in close to ideal conditions you can usually store them for a couple of weeks before they lose hatchability. The further from ideal conditions the faster they lose hatchability.

I don't have ideal conditions. I store mine at room temperature which means somewhere in the 70's. My humidity is lower than it should be, often fairly dry in the house. Mine do get turned. I can store mine for a week and still get good hatches. Since my conditions are not great I don't go past a week. That doesn't mean that I wouldn't get any to hatch, just that the percentage that hatch starts to drop. Those embryos are remarkably tough but they have limits.

A couple of hints. Make sure your incubator is really clean, sterilize it before you use it. Whether you use a broody hen or put them in incubators do not set dirty eggs. A little dried spot isn't bad but the dirtier they are the more likely they are to go bad. Do not wash them or sandpaper poop or dirt off of them. When the hen lays the egg the last thing she puts on the egg is a layer called "bloom". This layer helps keep bacteria out, that's why she can hide a nest for two weeks and the eggs stay good. You do not want to remove that layer of bloom.