How to Ship Fertile Eggs?

[chicksgalore]

Does anyone have info or a website to refer? I'm having trouble finding anything and I'd like to offer some of my eggs for trade or sale.

 

[gocrow77]

I think there may be some good info on the BST hatching eggs section, but as a buyer I prefer individually wrapped in bubble wrap. These have mostly arrived in good shape. I have only had a few cracked or broken. Your PO and your buyers PO have alot to do with how the aircells survive the trip as well. No matter how well they are packaged if they are shaken or jostled enough the yolks will be scrambled and the aircells ruptured - this can be on your PO's end or the receiver PO's end or anywhere in between. All you can do is your best when packaging and pray the PO is in a good mood when your eggs move trough the system. Most buyers realize this, particularly if they occasionally sell or ship eggs themselves. There is a thread on here somewhere about the worst packaging some have received - you may want to look at that for a "what NOT to do" when shipping eggs as well. Good luck!

Edited for spelling

 

[Dipsy Doodle Doo]

Hi! I can offer you a link to how I wrap and pack eggs for shipping : ClickMe
I started using this method in '06 and to my knowledge, I've never had an egg broken in shipping.
Not the only way by any stretch, but it works for me.
Besides that, only ship fresh and clean (relatively clean --- I have some girls that prefer a sandbox to their nest boxes and muddy feet make dirty eggs).
Candle your eggs prior to wrapping to check for irregularities.
Good luck! It is just as exciting to me to have chicks from eggs laid here hatching ALL OVER THE COUNTRY as it is to have them hatching here.

Lisa

 

[chicksgalore]

Thanks for sharing--very nice pictures and clear instructions. Do you ship them priority mail and about how much does shipping cost?

 

[milleryardchx]

a person posted this a little while back as being the best way she recieved eggs before. also my uncle deals with highend birds for zoos and stuff where eggs are anywhere from $100 to $2000 each this is how he packs them then with another peice of foam over them to fill the box 100% no movement of shacking eggs. he switched to this from bubble wrap and since then has had zero breaks or loose airbubbles. good luck!

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[dancingbear]

I once got 2 dozen turkey eggs from MHM packed like this, with the foam and cut-outs. There were 4 cracked, but I've often wondered if they may have already been cracked when they were packed. People working in a hatchery, packing hundreds of eggs to ship out may not be as careful as an individual would be.

Anyway, they sent 4 extras, so I still came out with the number ordered, and of the 2 dozen, half hatched. That was my very first shipment of eggs, and I've gotten 5 shipments of eggs from individuals, since then. The turkey eggs in the foam were my highest hatch rate for shipped eggs. So I'd say a big

on that method, and on the individually bubble wrapped, as well.

If you make sure they can't band against each other, are snug in the center of the box, from all 6 sides, with non-shifting, shock-absorbing packing to keep them from moving at all, they should be ok. Don't go overboard with the tape on the bubble wrap, you don't want eggs getting broken by the customer, trying to get all the darned tape off. One or two small strips of ordinary scotch tape, (not packing tape!!!) to hold the wrap on the eggs themselves.

Somebody suggested folding a bit, sticky side in, on one end of the tape strip when wrapping the eggs, so there's a loose end to grab easily, to remove the tape. I'll be doing that from now on, when I ship eggs.

 

[Dipsy Doodle Doo]

Hi! Yes, Priority Mail with Delivery Confirmation.
If you have a set of scales to weigh your box, you can go to USPS.com and calculate postage from one zip to another. Price will vary depending on weight and size of box, and distance it will be travelling.
Or you could go the Flat Rate Box route and charge shipping accordingly (I think there is a 11x6x8 box that goes for $9.?? and a 12x12x6 for 12.?? --- that's for printing postage online and DC is free. I don't know how much if you actually go to the PO, except it will be more expensive).
Good luck and ask away.
I got eggs in a foam block once and there were broken eggs. I think it *could* be a great method if the foam was readily available and the appropriate sized box was used.

Lisa

 

[chicksgalore]

Thanks for all the great ideas--this is a big help! I do have a scale so I would be able to weigh/send them right from home which is MUCH more convenient for me. I guess I should actually schedule a pickup with the USPS rather than let the eggs set in the mailbox? Does that cost anything to schedule a pickup--I've never done it before.

 

[Dipsy Doodle Doo]

Hi! There's no charge for that service.
I usually call my carrier and let her know I have a perishable package that needs to be picked up (we live at the end of a dirt road and the mailbox is way down at the highway).

Lisa

 

[CuriousChicken]

What about keeping them warm?