shipped eggs-How long can I wait

[pauljv]

I have 3 orders from 3 different sellers and they all are arriving at different times. I had one order I received and it was shipped on the 6th I received them on the 8th. The other order will come in tomorrow and the final one is expected on the 12th.Can I wait to put them all in at once or will that be to long of a wait for the ones I have already received. I only have one incubator and the ones I have received are sitting in the basement where the temp is cool like 70's and stable. Any advice on what I should do?

 

[NatureChica]

Ask MeepBeep. They are on the hatching forums. Good hatching advice....

 

[kuchchicks]

I have held eggs for 10 days before that all hatched just fine. You can keep eggs generally for about 14 days (from the date they were laid) and still get a decent hatch rate. Beyond that the odds of them developing and hatching without difficulty starts to decrease as time goes on. Depending on how old the eggs were that were shipped first you should be able to hold them if you place them in the bator fairly quickly after the others arrive. You will want to allow the new eggs to settle for 12-24 hours before placing them in the bator. You could try placing the older eggs in the bator as soon as you get the new eggs and let the others eggs sit for a day before adding them. This could cause a slightly staggered hatch but not too much. I often have chicks that hatch over a 24 hour period if I have a very full bator. Having a staggered hatch over a 24-30 hour period would not be difficult to manage.