Need advice on first time incubation of shipped eggs.

[PineHavenMama]

Hello. After missing our chickens for many years, we decided to get chicks again this year. Due to Covid, it has been beyond difficult to find them locally. I knew I wanted Orpingtons and stumbled across Papas Poultry online. I’ve never shipped chicks or eggs, so I emailed him and placed my order today for 20 eggs. I still have my Little Giant incubator from hatching out our own eggs years ago and we always had tremendous success. (This is a basic model. I turned the eggs manually. It’s model 9200 still air.)

Then I started reading some threads on BYC and am feeling very concerned that I need to invest in a different incubator. I didn’t realize that shipped eggs need to be upright during incubation. Because these eggs are pricier, I really want them to do well. I’m wondering if I should purchase upgrades for what I have or just get something different. I appreciate your feedback so much.

 

[PineHavenMama]

First of all, welcome to BYC! Orpingtons are awesome birds. What kinds did you get? Buff, Lavender, etc.? Shipped eggs do not need to be incubated upright. Lots of people prefer it, but I've never seen evidence that it actually helps much. Maybe if you have horrible detached air cells or something. I would let them settle for 6-8 hours. Candle them when they arrive and look at the air cells, and for dents or cracks. Mark any saddled air cells, or detached air cells, or good air cells. I ordered a 15 bobwhite quail eggs. I read that most recommend doing shipped eggs upright, but I can't in my incubator so I tried a little experiment. I had 1 detached air cell, 7 saddled air cells (which aren't a big deal, even fresh non-shipped eggs get them) and 6 regular air cells. One egg was broken upon arrival. I turned off the turner for a few hours to let them settle and slowly heat up, and then I turned it on. Out of the 14 set, 1 was infertile, and one was a late quitter. My detached air cell even reattached beautifully. I had a great hatch. Several of my friends used that exact same method with their shipped eggs and had really good hatch rates. If I were you I would try to stick to more natural and hatch them on their sides. People always baby shipped eggs, and I know it puts them under a lot of stress, but I have had the best hatch rate when treating them like any other egg. Other than letting them settle of course. Good luck with your eggs!

First of all, welcome to BYC! Orpingtons are awesome birds. What kinds did you get? Buff, Lavender, etc.? Shipped eggs do not need to be incubated upright. Lots of people prefer it, but I've never seen evidence that it actually helps much. Maybe if you have horrible detached air cells or something. I would let them settle for 6-8 hours. Candle them when they arrive and look at the air cells, and for dents or cracks. Mark any saddled air cells, or detached air cells, or good air cells. I ordered a 15 bobwhite quail eggs. I read that most recommend doing shipped eggs upright, but I can't in my incubator so I tried a little experiment. I had 1 detached air cell, 7 saddled air cells (which aren't a big deal, even fresh non-shipped eggs get them) and 6 regular air cells. One egg was broken upon arrival. I turned off the turner for a few hours to let them settle and slowly heat up, and then I turned it on. Out of the 14 set, 1 was infertile, and one was a late quitter. My detached air cell even reattached beautifully. I had a great hatch. Several of my friends used that exact same method with their shipped eggs and had really good hatch rates. If I were you I would try to stick to more natural and hatch them on their sides. People always baby shipped

First of all, welcome to BYC! Orpingtons are awesome birds. What kinds did you get? Buff, Lavender, etc.? Shipped eggs do not need to be incubated upright. Lots of people prefer it, but I've never seen evidence that it actually helps much. Maybe if you have horrible detached air cells or something. I would let them settle for 6-8 hours. Candle them when they arrive and look at the air cells, and for dents or cracks. Mark any saddled air cells, or detached air cells, or good air cells. I ordered a 15 bobwhite quail eggs. I read that most recommend doing shipped eggs upright, but I can't in my incubator so I tried a little experiment. I had 1 detached air cell, 7 saddled air cells (which aren't a big deal, even fresh non-shipped eggs get them) and 6 regular air cells. One egg was broken upon arrival. I turned off the turner for a few hours to let them settle and slowly heat up, and then I turned it on. Out of the 14 set, 1 was infertile, and one was a late quitter. My detached air cell even reattached beautifully. I had a great hatch. Several of my friends used that exact same method with their shipped eggs and had really good hatch rates. If I were you I would try to stick to more natural and hatch them on their sides. People always baby shipped eggs, and I know it puts them under a lot of stress, but I have had the best hatch rate when treating them like any other egg. Other than letting them settle of course. Good luck with your eggs!

Thank you. I ordered Silver-laced, Lavenders, Lemon Cuckoo and Chocolates. One of my boys wanted Jubilees too, but that would have delayed shipment. We are a family of seven so we eat a lot of eggs and I like a good size flock. So you think letting them rest for a bit will help? Providing I try to use my current incubator, should I get a turner? Is there evidence that automatic increases hatch rate over manual?

 

[Justso]

Hi again Auto turners are just convenient IMO. I don't feel they affect the hatch rate as long as you are vigilant in turning yourself...its what the hen does and nothing hatches better on my farm than the real thing. I think its important to not over think this and trust in what you know. Will an $800 incubator give you better hatch rates than a $50 one? Its likely that it will with the right variables in play but if you can handle the basics like temp, humidity and turning properly you're already doing great. I have several incubators, one which is extremely expensive...it has it all - a water pump controlled by humidity controls, a fan to circulate the warm and humid air, an automatic turner etc...with shipped eggs I've had hatch rates upwards of 90% and as low as 25%. My point is, there are things you can't control (like what happens during shipping) but with the equipment and knowledge you already have, you should be able to achieve the best of all possible outcomes. If getting an all inclusive incubator buys you peace of mind, perhaps do it but its likely not going to have a huge impact.

X2!
I vote don't bother spending the money if you're okay with turning the eggs yourself. They need to be turned on minimum of three times a day, and always an odd number. Don't sweat too much about the hatch rate. You could get your eggs from next door and you never know how they'll turn out. That's why we don't count chicks until they're hatched!

 

[Justso]

Hello. After missing our chickens for many years, we decided to get chicks again this year. Due to Covid, it has been beyond difficult to find them locally. I knew I wanted Orpingtons and stumbled across Papas Poultry online. I’ve never shipped chicks or eggs, so I emailed him and placed my order today for 20 eggs. I still have my Little Giant incubator from hatching out our own eggs years ago and we always had tremendous success. (This is a basic model. I turned the eggs manually. It’s model 9200 still air.)

Then I started reading some threads on BYC and am feeling very concerned that I need to invest in a different incubator. I didn’t realize that shipped eggs need to be upright during incubation. Because these eggs are pricier, I really want them to do well. I’m wondering if I should purchase upgrades for what I have or just get something different. I appreciate your feedback so much.

I'm not so sure about that comment that shipped eggs need to be upright during incubation. Just curious to know where you saw that. There is a pretty good study out there that shows that's turning is critical during incubation, but this was unrelated to the orientation of the egg.
You can pretty well bet that you'll have a lower average hatch rate with eggs coming through the mail, but there are always exceptions to the rule. many of us agree it's because of the amount of shaking that goes on in transit.

 

[MGG]

I'm not so sure about that comment that shipped eggs need to be upright during incubation. Just curious to know where you saw that. There is a pretty good study out there that shows that's turning is critical during incubation, but this was unrelated to the orientation of the egg.
You can pretty well bet that you'll have a lower average hatch rate with eggs coming through the mail, but there are always exceptions to the rule. many of us agree it's because of the amount of shaking that goes on in transit.

Haha, I'm a slow typer. X2!

 

[IvanK]

Hi! I believe the call to incubate upright is due to possible air cell damage during shipping. Regardless of incubator style, I've always let my shipped eggs sit for at least 24 hours in the upright position (wide part up) to allow the air cell to (hopefully) reform. That being said, you could try this if you can't get a new incubator. I'd say do it even if you get a new one. There's other things beyond your control with the carrier (how gentle they are, extreme temps etc.) but usually things work out just fine. Good luck!

 

[Justso]

Hi! I believe the call to incubate upright is due to possible air cell damage during shipping. Regardless of incubator style, I've always let my shipped eggs sit for at least 24 hours in the upright position (wide part up) to allow the air cell to (hopefully) reform. That being said, you could try this if you can't get a new incubator. I'd say do it even if you get a new one. There's other things beyond your control with the carrier (how gentle they are, extreme temps etc.) but usually things work out just fine. Good luck!

Yes to this, I let my eggs settle for a day before incubation.

 

[PineHavenMama]

I'm not so sure about that comment that shipped eggs need to be upright during incubation. Just curious to know where you saw that. There is a pretty good study out there that shows that's turning is critical during incubation, but this was unrelated to the orientation of the egg.
You can pretty well bet that you'll have a lower average hatch rate with eggs coming through the mail, but there are always exceptions to the rule. many of us agree it's because of the amount of shaking that goes on in transit.

Thank you for the feedback. As far as the comment, I believe it was in the hatching and incubation thread. Forgive me if that is not what it’s called. This is my first time using this kind of site. So providing that orientation isn’t a big issue and I let them rest for about 24 hours after delivery, should I get an automatic turner? How important is a fan? I wish it had occurred to me that there would be more concerns with shipped eggs. My husband and I just knew how well it always went for us before, but we didn’t factor in that they were our eggs so they didn’t get jostled about.

 

[IvanK]

Thank you for the feedback. As far as the comment, I believe it was in the hatching and incubation thread. Forgive me if that is not what it’s called. This is my first time using this kind of site. So providing that orientation isn’t a big issue and I let them rest for about 24 hours after delivery, should I get an automatic turner? How important is a fan? I wish it had occurred to me that there would be more concerns with shipped eggs. My husband and I just knew how well it always went for us before, but we didn’t factor in that they were our eggs so they didn’t get jostled about.

Hi again Auto turners are just convenient IMO. I don't feel they affect the hatch rate as long as you are vigilant in turning yourself...its what the hen does and nothing hatches better on my farm than the real thing. I think its important to not over think this and trust in what you know. Will an $800 incubator give you better hatch rates than a $50 one? Its likely that it will with the right variables in play but if you can handle the basics like temp, humidity and turning properly you're already doing great. I have several incubators, one which is extremely expensive...it has it all - a water pump controlled by humidity controls, a fan to circulate the warm and humid air, an automatic turner etc...with shipped eggs I've had hatch rates upwards of 90% and as low as 25%. My point is, there are things you can't control (like what happens during shipping) but with the equipment and knowledge you already have, you should be able to achieve the best of all possible outcomes. If getting an all inclusive incubator buys you peace of mind, perhaps do it but its likely not going to have a huge impact.

 

[MGG]

Hello. After missing our chickens for many years, we decided to get chicks again this year. Due to Covid, it has been beyond difficult to find them locally. I knew I wanted Orpingtons and stumbled across Papas Poultry online. I’ve never shipped chicks or eggs, so I emailed him and placed my order today for 20 eggs. I still have my Little Giant incubator from hatching out our own eggs years ago and we always had tremendous success. (This is a basic model. I turned the eggs manually. It’s model 9200 still air.)

Then I started reading some threads on BYC and am feeling very concerned that I need to invest in a different incubator. I didn’t realize that shipped eggs need to be upright during incubation. Because these eggs are pricier, I really want them to do well. I’m wondering if I should purchase upgrades for what I have or just get something different. I appreciate your feedback so much.

First of all, welcome to BYC! Orpingtons are awesome birds. What kinds did you get? Buff, Lavender, etc.? Shipped eggs do not need to be incubated upright. Lots of people prefer it, but I've never seen evidence that it actually helps much. Maybe if you have horrible detached air cells or something. I would let them settle for 6-8 hours. Candle them when they arrive and look at the air cells, and for dents or cracks. Mark any saddled air cells, or detached air cells, or good air cells. I ordered a 15 bobwhite quail eggs. I read that most recommend doing shipped eggs upright, but I can't in my incubator so I tried a little experiment. I had 1 detached air cell, 7 saddled air cells (which aren't a big deal, even fresh non-shipped eggs get them) and 6 regular air cells. One egg was broken upon arrival. I turned off the turner for a few hours to let them settle and slowly heat up, and then I turned it on. Out of the 14 set, 1 was infertile, and one was a late quitter. My detached air cell even reattached beautifully. I had a great hatch. Several of my friends used that exact same method with their shipped eggs and had really good hatch rates. If I were you I would try to stick to more natural and hatch them on their sides. People always baby shipped eggs, and I know it puts them under a lot of stress, but I have had the best hatch rate when treating them like any other egg. Other than letting them settle of course. Good luck with your eggs!