Possibly stupid question about collecting eggs to hatch...

[Mhays]

So, we have five layers right now (two are young and still laying the teeny eggs, but I'm sure that isn't for long.) If I want to hatch eggs, do I collect each one and put it right in the incubator, or can I leave them at room temperature (if so, for how long?) until I have enough to hatch?

Also - is there anything I need to do to make sure the rooster is doing his job other than leave him alone with the girls?

 

[Fenrisulfr]

No, you collect eggs up to 10 days and then put them all together into the incubator.
Store them tip down and tilt them about 45° angle left to right (90° in total) once a day (best way is put them tip down in a egg cartbox and lift the side e.g. with a book and change the side each day).
Try to store them between 10 and 15°C if possible.

And leave the roo with the girls, he should do his job, if he is ok.

 

[Quaicken108]

So, we have five layers right now (two are young and still laying the teeny eggs, but I'm sure that isn't for long.) If I want to hatch eggs, do I collect each one and put it right in the incubator, or can I leave them at room temperature (if so, for how long?) until I have enough to hatch?

Also - is there anything I need to do to make sure the rooster is doing his job other than leave him alone with the girls?

I agree with Fenrisulfr. And also with the male, sometimes he’s shy and does it when you’re not around or sometimes like one of mine he’ll just take a few weeks to settle in with them and then BAM! He’ll be jumping on them like there’s no tomorrow.

 

[Fenrisulfr]

I agree with Fenrisulfr. And also with the male, sometimes he’s shy and does it when you’re not around or sometimes like one of mine he’ll just take a few weeks to settle in with them and then BAM! He’ll be jumping on them like there’s no tomorrow.

 

[Mhays]

I agree with Fenrisulfr. And also with the male, sometimes he’s shy and does it when you’re not around or sometimes like one of mine he’ll just take a few weeks to settle in with them and then BAM! He’ll be jumping on them like there’s no tomorrow.

LOL, we're having the opposite problem with that male - we want to do a hatch because he's a beautiful Golden Italian, but he needs to be done, he's a teenaged a-hole and we have a roo who is chill and respectful to the girls. Just wanted to make sure that he doesn't need to be isolated with each hen or anything like that (poor hen! Glad that's not the case!)

Thanks, everybody! I knew there had to be a way!

 

[cmobley]

I used to collect eggs and keep them in the fridge door in a regular chicken egg carton. Somewhere on here I wrote it all out about doing it. I kept eggs for weeks and they hatched.

 

[Mhays]

I used to collect eggs and keep them in the fridge door in a regular chicken egg carton. Somewhere on here I wrote it all out about doing it. I kept eggs for weeks and they hatched.

I was wondering if refrigerating them mattered or not: I see all those YouTube videos about hatching grocery-store quail eggs. The thing is about half of the stores that offer quail eggs in my area don't refrigerate them, so I was wondering...

So, we've got a start! I'm excited! (also will be much happier when we don't have to keep our current roo in a storage tub with his favorite!)

 

[Fenrisulfr]

It depends on the temperature of the fridge. With 5°C and lower the fertile cell is starting to die.

But as most fridges have about +/- 7°C it should work.

 

[RUNuts]

Agree with the above. 10 days is a guideline and the viability starts to fall after 10 days of proper storage. The tilting improves viability, but I only do it half the time and get 75% hatch rates with eggs stored at room temperature.

If you pop the eggs into the incubator, you will have staggered hatches which causes logistic problems depending on your setup.

Keep it simple in my book.

 

[Trishamilton]

So, we have five layers right now (two are young and still laying the teeny eggs, but I'm sure that isn't for long.) If I want to hatch eggs, do I collect each one and put it right in the incubator, or can I leave them at room temperature (if so, for how long?) until I have enough to hatch?

Also - is there anything I need to do to make sure the rooster is doing his job other than leave him alone with the girls?

Hi there,
No question is ever a stupid question. Hatching is always a learning experience no matter how experienced you are!

Depending on your climate and humidity I suggest collecting as soon as they are laid, from my experience never wash (if they are dirty then dry wiping is ok and if it’s a terribly dirty egg you absolutely want to hatch then wet wiping is your best bet but not recommended as it can contaminate your other eggs possibly)

Store your eggs in a clean and dry egg carton with the pointy side down. Keep them in a cool and semi-dry space. Fridge is too cold, and where we live now we use the cellar and wine coolers. You want to keep the eggs around 40-50 degrees and not too high of humidity and not too dry. Generally we rotate our eggs a few times a day when storing hatching eggs, but even left depending on your fertility rate, you should have about 5-6 days to maintain that rate. I have hatched eggs up to two weeks old. Different eggs are different. It depends on how healthy the hen was (how thick the shell is and how porous) and many other factors.

Try to think of it as keeping it as natural as possible and simulating what is going on in the wild. Hen will lay a clutch of eggs (collect the amount you would like to hatch) then start the incubation process with all your eggs at the same time.

I have seen some people not properly store their eggs for two weeks and have a great hatch and I have seen others do everything they can and still not have any hatch, that is usually an incubation problem though if you have healthy and well fed birds and fertile hens and Roos. Hope my answer helped some! Happy hatching!!