Shelf life of eggs before incubation begins?

[BettyGoosie]

How long can eggs sit before incubation starts and still be viable?

Does it extend their viability by keeping them in a cool place, like a cooler that is about 55 - 60 degrees?

One egg was laid early with a big gap between it and the others and the clutch is not done, so I'm wondering how I can maximize the chance that it can hatch.

These are goose eggs, if that makes a difference.

Thanks!

 

[AmyLynn2374]

How long can eggs sit before incubation starts and still be viable?

Does it extend their viability by keeping them in a cool place, like a cooler that is about 55 - 60 degrees?

One egg was laid early with a big gap between it and the others and the clutch is not done, so I'm wondering how I can maximize the chance that it can hatch.

These are goose eggs, if that makes a difference.

Thanks!

Most people only set eggs that are a week old or less. The "experts" say 10 days or less and general consensus is less than 2 weeks over that the hatch rate percentage goes down with every day. Eggs are best stored from 50-60F. There is argument that if they are refrierated they may be viable for longer, but I do not know about any official stats or research with that.

 

[WalnutHill]

This is the most expert consensus that exists:

http://www.pasreform.com/academy/fr...s-new-procedures-in-hatching-egg-storage.html

 

[BettyGoosie]

Thank you for the responses.

The article is very informative and interesting. Makes me think that eggs stored and not given short periods of incubation, when combined with eggs that have stayed in the nest and have been incubated briefly by the hen several times each time she lays a new egg, will take longer to hatch than the eggs that never left the nest. So maybe it's not a good idea to pull the older eggs to keep them viable and then combine them with the newer eggs which have had access to short incubation periods with the hen.

So complicated, but thank you, now I have to think about this!