Refrigerated eggs experiment complete!

[Trisseh]

yes, I collected a late one tonight at 7pm! it was too cold to hold..! but not yet cracked. but I wouldn't set one like that unless I was desperate. I like to collect from 10 am til 4 every couple hours. I make sure there are less nest boxes in the winter so the hens keep them warm for me.

Why did you candle before setting? That's interesting that you could tell the texture inside had changed.

These eggs are experimental for me so I wasn’t too worried about the temps. Lol. I did wind up putting a heating pad in the nest box but of course mr Icelandic cockerel thinks he knows better and brings her to stupid places to lay instead. xD I’m at work all day so if they lay eggs early I don’t get them til hours later.

that’s a great idea though, increase hen traffic in the boxes to keep the temps up!

I always candle before setting to check for any oddities, cracks, etc. since most of the eggs I hatch are shipped. Specifically checked these eggs because I wanted to make sure they didn’t have hairline cracks or exploded yolks if they had frozen and thawed. I wouldn’t have bothered to put them in then. I’ve had some messy quail eggs and it’s kind of just a habit now. Lol.

The white seems more viscous when they’re really cold, and the yolk is sluggish to move when looking at it while candling. I left them on the counter to equalize with room temp before I set them of course, but I found it interesting that they could get that cold and yet still develop. No quitters yet either.

 

[Egg Snatcher]

I'm not saying you will get the same results. others on here swear by hatching refrigerated eggs... however, eggs from your grocery store- you wont know what type of chickens you are getting for months... you wanna take that chance? I like to know what breed Im putting all the effort into, but thats me.

Id just won't to try it. Just for fun. I did try it with one, I set it out for a couple of ours, then put it under a brooby hen. The problem was that egg was not fertail.

 

[Minky]

I should get better at candling. With coloured eggs and kids who are constantly draining the flashlights... I usually candle at 10 days and then again at 18. Mostly I see infertile eggs, or blood rings. Sometimes the duds that I would toss out hatch, so I have learned to leave it if there is any doubt. It is totally fascinating though and makes me feel like a mad scientist.

 

[ygahley]

[[ like that americans maybe call freezers fridges just like rugby is called football and motorways are highways even if they aren't high? ]]

Your football is called soccer here. Rugby is NOT called football. It's rugby.
We DO know the difference between a refrigerator and a freezer.

 

[lovescochins]

I raise button quail when I use my incubator I get lots of males . When I let mom hatch them I get more females. Don’t know why

 

[Mazimm1]

Ah what a cutie pie!!! Bummer the others didn't hatch but at least you ended up with one!

I like non-conventional names so I like your name but here's some other ideas: Frosty, Chill, Chilly, Elsa, Alaska, Snow, Polar, Blizzard, Jack (jack frost), Frio (cold in spanish)

Wifey

 

[Kglassmo]

Cute chick! As a former poultry scientist for UDSA, I will say that humidity and moisture levels are huge factors for viability and mortality when hatching chicken eggs. Fertile eggs are best kept at ‘room temperature’ which is 20-25 degrees Celsius or around 68-77 degrees F. This prevents the air sac from shrinking and therefore drying out, which in turn will decreases oxygen exchange to any developing embryo. The smaller the egg (quail) the smaller the air sac and the quicker it dries out. I cut up sea sponges to use as humectants in the corner of my incubators to keep moisture level constant at level of eggs. I mist them daily with sterile water, but not too much water to cause mold or fungal growth.
Egg viability can be maintained in refrigerated temps (40-45 degrees F) but hatchability will possibly decrease. I don’t know that this has anything to do with determining gender of poultry chicks, however reptile eggs (alligator, crocs, turtles) gender is in fact affected by incubation temperatures. Since chickens are evolutionary cousins of crocs (and dinosaurs!) that’s something to study on. Experiments need to be repeated multiple times with exact conditions (and control group) before results can be verified.

 

[Drummondchick]

Ok, so about a month ago I was asking if using high temperatures to hatch out eggs would produce more females (because it would basically kill the male eggs).
The discussion led to many responses, and one that came up was from a member who says they only hatch out refrigerated eggs, and they do this to get more females, less males. So, having an abundance of eggs I thought I would try it. I set 21 eggs. Almost all started to develop... (candling is hard with dark and blue eggs) but in the end, I only had one chick hatch...so maybe not something I will try again. LOL. However, it is a very robust little chick. I am looking for better names then its current one... "FRIDGE"
I will let you know if it turns out female.

Hill Minky. I am a very new chook owner, I only have one hen and a rooster and 5 youngsters which should start laying end of February. Thing is,...I was going to supply friends and family with some eggs, but hearing what you have said about putting eggs in the fridge and they still hatch, what if I put my eggs in the fridge until I have say a dozen and friend cracks one of these eggs open for breakfast, is there bound to be a little chick in there??

 

[Orpingtons Mom]

Cute chick! As a former poultry scientist for UDSA,

I myself have one hen that hatches mostly females (late last summer, 1m 7f) and one hen that hatches mostly males (last fall, 5m 2f). A useful trait, if it can be passed along!

Kglassmo,

very interested in your POV re ConnieA’s comment. Is the production of M/F genetically predisposed? I wonder if, cumulatively the stats would be 50/50, but isolated hens (or people for that matter) would produce M/F more frequently.

Does this question make sense or am I being too vague?

 

[NatJ]

I was going to supply friends and family with some eggs, but hearing what you have said about putting eggs in the fridge and they still hatch, what if I put my eggs in the fridge until I have say a dozen and friend cracks one of these eggs open for breakfast, is there bound to be a little chick in there??

No need to worry. There will not be a chick in the egg.

An egg has no visible chick inside when it is laid.
While the egg is at room temperature, or in a fridge, no chick will grow.
If the egg is infertile, no chick will grow.

A chick can only grow inside the egg while it is very warm, like in an incubator or under a broody hen.

The question this thread was talking about: if you take a fertile egg out of the refrigerator, and put it in an incubator, will a chick grow? Or did the fridge make it so no chick will ever grow?

As long as you collect eggs regularly (at least every day or two), and store them in a fridge or other cool place, no-one will ever find a chick in your eggs. Even storing the eggs at 70 degrees Farenheit in your house will be cool enough to guarantee no chicks growing in your eggs.