Moving fertile eggs

[JMotuzick]

I have a friend who thinks his hen may have good broody, maybe because of the 60 degree temps? anyway I had offered some eggs. we have a rooster so i'm sure some are fertile. what is the best way to store and collect them until we can meet to get the eggs under her? he lives about 45 minutes to a hour from me. just collect and put in a egg carton and put them under? or? what about themps? should they be kept above 60, 80, 90 or something? thanks in advance

 

[QuailExpert]

if you are doing it today then put them in an egg carton for the trip. if you are planning on taking them a different day then as long as the eggs stay warm, they should be fine. when i incubated my quail eggs, we did not need to do anything to keep the eggs warm until we were ready to start the incubation process. hope this helps !

 

[lazy gardener]

Storage below 60*. If you want the best temp, go to "hatching eggs 101" in the learning center, and scroll down till you find the section re: storage. Put them in an egg carton, and tilt the carton side to side, and end to end 3 or more times/day.

Or you can do a thread search for "storing hatching eggs". Also, if you can provide a high humidity area that would be good. The ideal is to keep the air cells from getting very big while they are in storage. When traveling, try to keep them from getting jostled around.

 

[rebrascora]

Collect eggs and keep in an egg box at room temperature with the fat end up. The counter top is fine. It doesn't even have to be a stable temperature..... in a more natural situation, a hen would lay a clutch of eggs into her nest over a period of a couple of weeks and then start to incubate them once she has a large enough clutch. During those 2 weeks the eggs will warm through the day and cool a little at night... normally this is Spring/Summer time so the eggs would not be exposed to really low or freezing temps. The hen will move the eggs a little each day when she goes to lay another one to the nest. You can mimic this by placing something under one end of the egg box and moving it to the other end the next day. When you have collected enough to give to your friend, just transport them in the egg box and they are ready to put under the broody hen when they get home. It is a good idea to mark the eggs if the broody is being kept in the main coop with other hens as they will be tempted to lay their eggs in her nest.... there is nothing like a pile of eggs to encourage other hens to add to it. The 21 day clock starts counting when he puts the eggs under the hen. Any new unmarked eggs from his hens should be removed daily as they can jeopardise the fertile eggs by making the nest too full and causing some of the fertile eggs to get pushed out from under the broody and chill.

Have you checked your eggs for fertility by cracking one open to look at the Blastoderm/blastodisc? If not, it might be worth checking one or two before you start collecting. A broody hen cannot count to 21, so there is no desperate rush to get her some eggs. Most of us leave them at least a couple of days to confirm they are broody before we give them eggs and if they are committed to it, they will often sit for 5+ weeks even if you don't give them any eggs, although that is not a healthy situation for them..... but even if it takes you a week to collect enough eggs it is not a problem.
Good luck

Barbara

 

[Xlcandylx]

Right now I have my eggs in the egg turner while I wait a couple more days for more eggs.

 

[lazy gardener]

This pulled from one of Sally Sunshine's threads. She backs up her advice with science to support.

Place the eggs upright in an egg carton with the FAT, air cell end of the egg UP! Allow eggs to sit in a moderately cool, somewhat humid place for storage. Basements are great. Moderately cool means 55-65 degrees. Rotate your eggs a 3 times a day to keep the embryo from sticking. An easy way to turn all of the eggs at once is to place a thick book under one end of the carton, and later remove the book and put it under the other end of the carton, 3 times a day.