Interesting Results -- shipping versus hand-delivery

[Criskin]

I've had wildly varied hatch rates on shipped eggs but the few times I tried to hatch my own I got a 100% hatch rate. The longest it has taken eggs to arrive was 4 days- they were shipped on a Thursday and I'm guessing sat around the PO on Sunday. Normally my egg shipments are mailed on Monday or Tuesday and arrive in 2 days.

 

[sheila3935]

I believe its the post office fault they do not and thing gently. I ordered 6 eggs from a member on here she wrapped them very well and fragile and all on the package. The package came dented 3 eggs broken and the rest didnt hatch too scrambled. I went to a farm about 50 miles from here got 24 hatching eggs from him so far 21 have hatched 1 was a dud and 2 are still cooking.

 

[Chickenaddict]

I ordered mille fleur serama eggs once from someone on here, By the time I got the eggs almost half of them were 2 weeks old! That is NOT the PO's fault. After unwrapping them from bubble wrap (10 eggs total) Most of them had moisture in there and got moldy so I set only 2 of the 10 eggs, I got both to hatch but one of the chicks died at 1 month old for unknown reasons, healthy one day dead the next. Another time first time I bought hatching eggs of any sort I bought from eggbid, seller was from alabama and sent me 10 eggs even tho the auction was for 6, I broke one of the eggs unwrapping them from bubble wrap and set the other 9 eggs under a hen. 7 of those 9 eggs hatched. Now thats pretty darn good for shipped eggs! So I though with that kind of luck I am gonna order some EE eggs off here again and see how well they hatch, this time I was using an incubator. Out of 6 eggs only 3 hatched, 2 were cockrels

I don't blame the seller on that batch at all, the eggs were packaged wonderfully and got here in a very timely manner. I blame the stupid incubator on that one. I am done wasting money on hatching eggs, for that kind of dough I could buy myself another coop! From now on if I don't find eggs locally I buy started birds.

 

[racuda]

Things that matter:

Temp when eggs are in transit.
Freshness of eggs.
Distance eggs travel.
Incubated under a broody vs. incubator
Health/diet of hens.
Letting eggs "rest"
Luck

I am looking at 12 out of 12 Ameraucana eggs developing, from an eBay seller, and in 6 days I should have 15 out of 18 Serama eggs hatch, from BluegrassSeramas. On the other hand, I only had 3 BCM eggs out of 15 hatch from a member here.