How long do shipped fertile eggs stay viable??

[thaijack]

I would like to order some fertile eggs of hard to get chickens from a commercial shipper and assuming that they ship same day, how long until the eggs loose their viability to hatch??
And how are they shipped??

 

[Davaroo]

Long story short, they will remain viable for a week to 10 days.
The longer they remain out of the incubator, though, the less chance they have. 10 days is the "official" limit. You want to ensure they are shipped within 24 hours of being collected.

They are normally shipped 2-3 days priority, but you can have them express shipped if you want to pay for it.

Now shipping does take its toll on fertile eggs. All the knocking around and harsh handling is not good for the fertile germ. Don't get me wrong, it is still a good way to go. But there are some risks from the shipping process and sometimes eggs are either damaged or rendered infertile.

On the other hand, shippers with even a little experience pack securely and do well. I recently got some shipped eggs with not a one broken. I'll soon see if they hatch....

 

[sonew123]

There are al kinds of miracle stories on here-but from what I know fertle eggs are best incubated no longer than 7-10 days from laying. I had silkie eggs sent to me that were already 9 days old when I got them-12 of them-3 hatched out. alot were growing right to the end but I must of had a humidty problem because they all died before pipping :-( I have fridge eggs n now that are hatching-they were in for a week in the fridge-the others I just had sitting on my counter for a few days till i threw all in at once-2 down 5 to go

 

[Trenary Duck Farm]

This question comes up a lot, and a lot of numbers are thrown around. Cornell University has a good article here.

For best results, set eggs within 1-3 days from the time they were laid. There is an average loss of about 3% hatchability for eggs stored 7 days before setting, and about 10% loss for those stored 14 days.

 

[walkswithdog]

And 20-35% loss for up to four weeks, which is the oldest I've set but those were not shipped.

I'd personally never hold shipped eggs for more than a week. They're already stressed enough without holding.

 

[popejoyjames64]

I am looking to purchase fertile Bobwhite quail eggs in and around Albuquerque, New Mexico.
How long do fertile Bobwhite Quail eggs remain viable before incubating if shipped?