Shipping Eggs with Poly-foam

[Mystic Farms]

Quote:
I had the same thing earlier this year, but I credited it to it still being cold out... didn't think of the foam not breathing......

 

[Chinchilla2]

Not all poly-foam is the same. From the picture shown, I would also most hazard a guess that the poly-foam was actually designed for pheasant and not chicken eggs. Back when I did bobs and cortunix on a regular basis, I used poly-foam BUT (notice the capitals there) I also used the upper and lower panels which were at least 3/4 inch deep. I would make two cardboard panels the same size of my poly-foam and create a cardboard, padding panel, poly-foam crate, padding panel, and cardboard sandwich. This was then wrapped in a newspaper folded up just so to make a lift out handle on it. I'd layer packing stuff, usually wadded newspaper or a newspaper/peanut blend, on the bottom of the box. Pop in the newspaper wrapped poly-foam egg sandwich, stuff more paper around the sides, and then newspaper or newspaper/peanut blend the top. Doing the blend gave me a chance to recycle peanuts that others would use to ship to me. Considering I shipped off 1000 bob eggs (with extras it came to 1,079) from Central Texas to Tacoma, Washington one time using this method and the guy called me 4 weeks later asking me what the heck happened with the 14 eggs that did not hatch, it makes it hard to blame poly-foam.

Now, I have also received eggs packed down in shavings and paper-mache cartons, those thin styrofoam cartons like at the grocery store, bubble wrapped, double bubble wrapped, paper towel wrapped, and even ziplock bags that have had great hatch rates. Eggs I've gotten with poly-foam and all these other methods, I have had crappy hatch rates. Distance hasn't been a factor either. Neither has heat and time in the mail truck. I have received boxes that are pristine, without any indication the post office touched it except for the post mark with little to no success in hatching and those that look like they were used for a rugby match and had to improvise brooder boxes out of boot boxes and night lights since even the extras decided to hatch. I can't even chalk up a successful hatch to my incubation since I've had crappy hatches in a Sportsman and 100% hatches in one of those little stupid yellow salad bowls from GQF.

This places the problem with hatch rates within the realm of the post office or the breeder. If the birds are not fed a good quality feed when they lay the eggs, you wind up with embryos that may not have that desire to thrive. If the eggs are saved up and then shipped out, if they haven't been stored properly, you have an egg that had already started the incubation process when shipped or an embryo that got way too cold. If the package went through extremes of heat and cold and bounced around like a 3-year-old on a trampoline after consuming their body weight in sugar, it would be a good guess that only the fittest will make it through the incubator and brooder to wind up in the coop. Translation: shipped eggs are a coin flip when it comes to winding up with the amount of birds you want, you have no choice but to take your chances.

All that being said, there is a trick to getting eggs out of the polyfoam. If your eggs do not come with the sandwich process and a lift kit to get them out of the box, DO NOT take the darn crate out of the box. Take off any and all covering to get to the actual crate. Slowly work a hand under one corner of the polyfoam while angling towards the corner egg. Once you get where you can feel that egg with a finger, any finger will do, take the other hand and place it gently over the egg, applying just enough pressure to the polyfoam to make a dent in it with your fingers. Slowly poke the egg up from underneath. The combination of upward pressure from your finger and downward pressure on the foam will cause the egg to rise up. Once it clears it's widest diameter, stop poking from the bottom (you will feel a decrease in resistance with the bottom hand when this happens). Close the fingers on the other hand around the egg and put the egg in the "secure after shipping resting place". Repeat with the rest of the eggs. The hardest one to get out will always be the first one.

 

[hencackle]

Posting an update to my original post (#16). Externally, the eggs looked fine...internally, they were a mess. I tried incubating the eggs vertically, as recommended on a different thread whose topic was incubating eggs with ruptured air cells. Nothing developed.

The best packing job--for the eggs I've received--consisted of wrapping each egg in bubble wrap, placing those eggs in a box lined with crumpled newspaper and topped with a bubble wrap. That box was placed inside a larger box filled with more crumpled newspaper. The shipper had different labels on the box, nice big 8x11.5 sized labels which said things like, "Live Embryos, Do Not X-Ray", "Fragile, Hatching Eggs". All 8 eggs developed, but only 6 hatched....using a LG incubator, Brinsea digital thermometer + water weasel, wet bulb/dry bulb hygrometer, no fan, no turner. Those eggs were shipped from Indiana to Tennessee.

I can't help but wonder if my latest batch of shipped eggs would have had a better chance if the double box method was used.

 

[Duramaxgirl]

I received eggs in poly foam and I do not like it. It was from a seller on ebay. Over half the eggs had floating bubbles and none of the eggs developed... sigh... I paid a pretty penny for these eggs to. The seller has promised to send me more eggs in cooler weather and I asked to pay more and get them in a bigger box as the box was small and had no packing other then the foam.

 

[NateinFL]

In short, its not worth the extra money, just need to find someone with better quality eggs is all.

 

[zookeeper15133]

I sold items on Ebay for about 5 years. I shipped about 10-12 packages a day via USPS. Not many were fragile. But here is what I found:

1) Package it so you hear NOTHING when you shake the box. It arrives safely 95% of the time.

2.) Add large FRAGILE stickers to all sides. It arrives safely 50% of the time.

For very fragile items like eggs, I would use the box within a box method. Use the smallest possible box for the bubble wrapped eggs, with layers of bubble wrap in between layers. Be sure you hear nothing when it is gently shaken. Put it inside a larger box lined with peanuts or bubble wrap. Fill it over full so it just closes. Make sure you hear nothing when shaken.

USPS Priority Mail has boxes that are 7x7x4 then 12x12x9 that would work very well for this. The boxes are free from the PO.

I have never shipped eggs, but this is how I would do it. Do not mark it fragile.

Maybe someone could try it as an experiment. Send 1 not marked and 1 marked and see how they hatch.

 

[calgal98]

Quote:
Ditto the above.... I much prefer the bubble wrap and newspaper or shred. I've gotten much better results on those eggs.

 

[Mrsmouse]

My 12 eggs were posted in polystiring, moulded holes top and bottom. 10 days in all are very active.

 

[mariaisabel]

I use foam to ship my turkey eggs and pheasant eggs and I have not got any complains about broken eggs ,I usually place newspaper on the bottom of the box then I use a piece of bubble wrap and add another piece thin foam then I place my foam with the eggs on top of all that add another thin piece of foam bubble wrap and more newspaper the important thing when pack ng eggs i not to leave any empty space in the box the feedback on the fertility rate has been positive,but even if the post office were careful handling eggs shipping is hard on eggs
Maria