shipped eggs

[chickabator]

could some of you tell me how much luck you have had with shipped eggs? My delaware eggs are due tomorrow or sat I have never tried to hatch shipped eggs before always my own or some from a local farmer. how long do I let them set before putting them in the bator? everyone on ebay says that they are good eggs( those that have bought from her) she shipped them yesterday what should I expect? any imput would be great . thanks

 

[Queen of the Lilliputians]

Shipped eggs are very hit or miss. The PO can be VERY hard on them.

I haven't had great luck with them, but I've read lots of posts of people who have. Just keep in mind that your hatch rates probably WON'T be as high as if you'd set your own eggs (and that will most likely NOT be due to the person who shipped you the eggs).

Oh.. let them rest large side up for several hrs before putting in your incubator.

Meghan

 

[LoneCowboy]

I have 2 batches in the bator, one is really good one is really bad. I know in this case it had nothing to do with the shipper or the bator. It had to be the Post Office. You just never know what they are going to put them though and you just hope for the best.

 

[Tuffoldhen]

I've had 70% hatches with shipped eggs down to nothing hatches...its a gamble we take when getting shipped eggs..........50% is suppose to be a good hatch rate for shipped...my 70% hatch was from Jody (Hinkjc)...

 

[skeeter]

makes me wonder this time of year that maybe they get too cold in transit,very frustrating,i bought 2 dozen eggs am now starting day 18 but it dont look good for the home team,i bought another 2 dozen and they will be here next week if they dont do well i probally will never buy eggs again except locally
just read another post about cold eggs that have hatched,must be the POSTAL SERVICE after all,I guess some dont care if it says fragile or not

 

[jkcove08]

It really depends on where you are and where they are coming from. I have found a few different areas that do good for me and some that dont do so well. When I buy from FL, I dont have a very good rate. Must be something about coming up to Iowa. Dipsey Doodle Doos eggs do pretty good for me. I have also found now that I request my eggs to be shipped on a Saturday if at all possible. I dont think there is as much being shipped over a weekend and so there is less trama to my eggs. Usually anyone I order eggs from is far enough away from me to know that they would not have gotten here on Sunday. I usually always get them Monday and if not until Tuesday they are still in pretty good shape. I also had a person send me 2 boxes of egg one time and one box was pretty good and the second box was real bad. There were several broken eggs and a lot of cracked ones. I will still buy shipped eggs since I havent found anyone around my area that has the funny birds that I like or they want to much for thier chicks. I have spent 2 years buying shipped eggs and finallly figured that it might be a good idea to keep a journal of what is going on with all these eggs. I will put there they came from, how many shipped, how many broke or cracked, if any had loose airsacs to prevent them from setting, what was left after 2 to 3 candling and finally what hatched. I already was able to start since my swap partner from the other board sent me eggs..

I have know people who will only buy from anywhere to the west of them saying that mail going east is better then mail going to the west. It is real hard to know what is going to happen. It really depends on weither or not you can find locally what you want or if you want to take the risk. I also base hatch rates on what started developing after candling for the first time. If I was sent 12 eggs and 2 were clear on day 7 for candling then my hatch rate will be based on the 10 eggs that are left, not the original 12. I have many wonderful chickens that I would not have had the chance to hatch if I hadnt bought eggs and had them shipped. Last point is it is a good way to get new blood lines into your flock. Jenn

 

[hart31]

I'm glad I decided to wait until at least mid february to order eggs. It was -20F this morning and will probably be around that for lows for the next 10 days. Our mail leaves Minot at 3:30 to 4:00 am and gets here about 7:00. That's longer than I would like in the back of an unheated frieght truck which will be open at least 5 times for 5 to 10 minutes each time. And they probably will have had a 6 to 7 hour trip from Fargo in an unheated semi van followed by an hour in the sorting room in Minot prior to the final trip bringing them here.