I would like to say something to everyone.

[debilorrah]

Mrs. AK-Bird-Brain :

I've heard of people getting started embryos... that would be from the seller not collecting eggs as often as they should, or pulling them from a setting hen. Seems like it would be rare, but it could happen.
I personally cannot ship chicks because we're so far out in the boonies that the closest facility that will accept live birds is 2 1/2 hours away.

Well packaged eggs are usually individually wrapped to offer a cushion around the egg, then packed in the box in such a manner that no amount of shaking will allow movement. They should be SNUG, and I prefer to pack them with the pointed end down, too.

There are threads on how to package them, you just have to search for them.

When I sent 8 eggs to someone, I packed them in a priority tube. Only one didn't hatch. I mean those suckers were in there TIGHT.

 

[mamawolf544]

I ship eggs all the time and I think I package pretty well if I say so myself.

But I LOVE to order eggs, and I am very happy if I get 4 out of 12 to hatch. Very Happy.

I have plenty of pure breed chickens and I only hatch my Turkens and Spitz, the rest are usually from you lovely people.

And I have only had 1 for sure maybe 2 that I got nothing. And I never said a word. It's my risk and they were and still are good sellers. And I will buy from again.

Now on the other hand I spent a bunch of money on eggs from a seller not BYC folks and I got zip. And I have seen since then plenty of complaints on this board about the same thing. So thanks to yall I never ordered from her again.

 

[Dipsy Doodle Doo]

Hi! In my opinion, these are well-wrapped eggs:

Even with a couple boxes squashed like an accordion on one side, there has only been one broken egg (that I broke myself while packing the filler 'extra-tight' and didn't realize it til the box was on the way).
When they fit well, I stand the eggs big-end-up, and wrap from there. I've not heard if there's a great deal of difference in air cells being knocked out-of-whack either way.
*wink* Fresh, well wrapped and packed eggs stand a less chance of having their air-cells knocked out-of-whack --- whether they are upright or sideways..
But here's an example of 'much bubble-wrap' does not necessarily make a good packing.
Eggs on the bottom of the box 'loose' on a single layer of bubble-wrap (all cracked or broken [in the corners]), the other eggs pushed toward the outside of the box, but a great pile of bubblewrap in the MIDDLE of the box --- and the eggs mostly unprotected. I thought to myself, what kind of savant packed this box? I candled the surviving eggs and found some huge air cells and when I emailed the seller about the age of the shipped eggs (large air cells = old eggs to me), the reply was "They hatch better that way". I found out later, the seller didn't live where the birds were, and gathered a week load of eggs (left in the nest-boxes or wherever they lay) and shipped *supposedly* fresh eggs Mondays.

I think there is a place where sellers HAVE to be held accountable. Obviously, this individual had an IDEA of how to wrap and pack, but not a grasp of 'how to do it well'.
A breeder may breed the most fabulous birds, but if one offers 'eggs for hatching',
one should learn to wrap and pack so buying eggs ISN'T A CRAP SHOOT!

Lisa

 

[debilorrah]

Quote:
I say it IS a crap shoot, because the hatch rate is not nearly as high as if you hatched your own eggs. Because not everyone knows how to pack well, etc. I just get tired of seeing people posting "I bought infertile eggs", or "the seller didn't do their job". Yes, there are sellers that do a crappy job packing. But for the most part, sellers WANT repeat business, so they go out of their way to pack well.

 

[Rainwolf]

Mrs. AK-Bird-Brain :

I've heard of people getting started embryos... that would be from the seller not collecting eggs as often as they should, or pulling them from a setting hen. Seems like it would be rare, but it could happen.
I personally cannot ship chicks because we're so far out in the boonies that the closest facility that will accept live birds is 2 1/2 hours away.

Well packaged eggs are usually individually wrapped to offer a cushion around the egg, then packed in the box in such a manner that no amount of shaking will allow movement. They should be SNUG, and I prefer to pack them with the pointed end down, too.

There are threads on how to package them, you just have to search for them.

there is a thread where people are starting incubation on purpose before shipping.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=419802
some people swear by it and a lot of people are going to test the theroy out.​

 

[Rainwolf]

Shipped eggs is a in a way a gamble.
But it can be a good gamble if they seller packs well etc. a bad gamble if the seller does not pack well and ships old eggs etc..

There are many of each kind out there. I know that if the eggs are shipped improperly I will not buy from them again. If packed correctly even with a bad hatch I will buy from them again if I have a need.

 

[debilorrah]

Quote:
I can atest to this statement. I purchased Polish eggs, and they were packed well. I bought 12, and 1 hatched. Am I unhappy? NO!!! I got Elmer out of it. A gorgeous white crested black hen.

 

[Mrs MIA]

Quote:
there is a thread where people are starting incubation on purpose before shipping.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=419802
some people swear by it and a lot of people are going to test the theroy out.

But... at 3 days you don't have started embryos... perhaps just some veining. I've accidentally left eggs out on the counter after candling at day 7 - up to 24 hours with cool ambient temperatures - and still had chicks hatch. But incubating prior to handing the eggs over to the PO just doesn't make sense to me at all. Maybe in the deep south in the extremely hot weather, and they keep incubating during the trip??

I don't know... I"ll wait to see how the "experiments" go.

 

[shelleyd2008]

Quote:
One thing that has been noted by some of my fellow gamebird hatchers is that eliminating the 'counter stabilization time' has increased hatches. You can still let the eggs 'rest' while they are in the incubator. One friend started setting shipped eggs in his incubator upon arrival without turning the eggs for the first 24-48 hours and his hatches increased dramatically. The theory is that during the warmer months (when most gamebirds are laying) the eggs are starting their incubation while in transit and allowing them to 'settle' for 24 hours is killing the embryos.
The only time I let eggs 'settle' on the counter is when I get eggs shipped to me during cold weather and there is a risk of the eggs developing condensation. Otherwise they go right into the hatching incubator for 24 hours (no turner) then into the incubating incubator (and on the turner) after that.

 

[shelleyd2008]

Another thing that should be noted is that different breeds of chickens' eggs handle shipping differently. I've gotten silkie eggs shipped to me from all over the country and rarely have 'good' hatches on those. Then I've had other eggs shipped to me from many of the same areas and had great hatches.

I think one of the main things that affects the stability of the air cell is the age of the egg. If the eggs are fresh with a tiny air cell there is less of a chance for the air cell to become detached. Most of the shipped eggs I've received with detached or broken air cells had HUGE air cells indicating that the eggs were 'old'. I think 4 days after lay should be the maximum when shipping hatching eggs. But that's just my opinion