shipped by air

[jack cha am]

We received around5o eggs about a month ago and to make a long story short we only got two chicks.
The incubator is new and so i do not really know if it works as it should but my main question is about the eggs.They come from a cool country and were send to a hot country by air and about 12 hours in the air.The whole shipping time was about 6 days.This would probably include sitting somewhere in a hot truck without being turned of course.
Am i wrong in hoping for a better hatch rate?It is really hard to find chickens here as most breeds are fighting birds or laying hens.
I will receive another batch of eggs next week and will place them under a broody hen,i hope it will make a difference.
Can anyone tell me the way eggs are effected by this way of transport?
Also i can not bring the humidity lower then around 55%,it is the same as the outside air,do i need to open more vents or is this ok?

 

[sumi]

Shipped eggs, whether overland or air, has it's risks and low hatch rates are common. I occasionally hear of someone getting a 100% hatch from shipped eggs, but 50% is much more common. Spending days in transit and being tossed around doesn't help matters either. The best you can do is order as many eggs as you can afford/fit into the incubator and hope for the best. This article has a section on incubating shipped eggs with some tips:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/hatching-eggs-101

The humidity is a bit higher than I'd normally go for, but it's still in the O.K. range. Keep an eye on the air cell development and weigh the eggs to monitor weigh/moisture loss. If you want/need to lower it opening the vents may help some. Good luck with your hatch!

 

[jack cha am]

Thank you, i read the article about fresh air also and i am not sure how much fresh air i should allow into the box.The inc. is just a foam box used to ship fish in.
i made two 3/4 inch holes near the top opposite each other,is that enough?
I really would like to make sure the next time things will be more optimal.
Also would like to try some eggs from our own chickens to find out the difference in hatchrate.
A hatch rate of 50% for shiped eggs would make very happy and if we get enough birds to use as a foundation we would be well on our way.

 

[sumi]

Adequate ventilation in the incubator is very important, especially when it comes to hatch time. If you use a forced air incubator you can get away with less ventilation holes, provided the fans will help suck in fresh air, but if you have a still air model, I'd make another hole or 2 in there.

If you don't me asking, where do you live? Which country?

 

[jack cha am]

I live in Thailand,always warm here.The inc. we gor is just a sheet of plexiglass with a control unit and a fan plus two lightbulbs.I made a hole in the lid of the foambox and just placed the unit on top of it.I have no idea if the fan pulls in any fresh air because it blows downwards and the vent holes are below that.