Well shoot, skunked again, maybe. I have 1 BBS Orp in lockdown but it may have quit between day 14 and 18. At least I didn't see any movement yesterday. Here's hoping. I should know Friday. Six Lavender Orps-0 and the other 2 BBS had blood rings. I had 9 Cuckoo Silkies but only one developing at day 8. This is the third set of shipped eggs and this is best I've done so far. BTW, can you feaher sex the BBS orps?
Misery loves company...everybody I know has had terrible luck with shipped eggs this year. Shipping has been murder this year literally.
This is my first year in buying shipped eggs....just in case this isn't just a "bad" shipping year, I've kept a file on every breeder I've bought eggs from. I've had great hatch rates from some breeders and a "0" hatch rate from others. Next year, I'll KNOW who to buy eggs from
Same here-I have bought several batches of shipped eggs and my hatch rate stinks. A couple of the packages that I have gotten were dented, laid up on their side in the back of the mail truck, etc. I refuse to give up though, I currently have 2 beautiful little chicks and 1 gorgeous little duck in the brooder that have hatched in the last few days from shipped eggs-seeing their cute, fuzzy selves in the brooder makes me feel like it was worth it.
Quote:Have you noticed a difference in your success rate in relation to differences in how the eggs were packed? Or, how far they traveled?
I've shipped eggs to Alaska for many customers and they had some of my best hatch rates! I think it has a lot to do with whether the eggs are bound side-up and secured together so they don't jar one another. The nutrition of the mother is crucial, as that's going to make the contents less watery- higher protein makes the egg more gel-like. I use foam now, because it's the easiest way to get the eggs to sit tight without spending half an hour wrapping them. Freshness is crucial, too, as the aircell is nearly non-existent, making the eggs less fragile. Contents don't move inside if there isn't room to do so.
Because of the same reasons I have quit buying shipped eggs. I only participate in swaps now. For some reason it seems like I have better hatch rates from eggs I got in a swap then eggs I have paid money for. Then, all I'm out is money I paid to send my own eggs. I also would check how far they are coming from especially in the heat.
Quote:All of my packages arrived in very good shape but all the eggs had disrupted air cells so I'm attributing it to rough handling. The only thing I changed this time was that I let all the eggs sit upright in the cartons for 24 hours to let the air cells settle before they went in the incubator. I left them in the carton and didn't turn them for the first several days.
I incubated shipped eggs this year and had okay hatch rates and bad hatch rates! This was my first year incubating and with shipped eggs! It will be my last! I have more roos than hens by fourfold! I will incubate ducks and turkeys from now on but probably not chickens! It was fun though! I want more hens!
