So this probably is a really dumb question, but....

[Weeg]

Washed, or not washed doesn't matter much. All my refrigerated eggs are washed, & hatching them was successful.

As long as you keep the bator clean of course. Just wash hands between, or wear rubber gloves. That should work fine for washed eggs.

 

[Tonyroo]

Take an egg and Crack one open to check fertility. Just to see what your working with.

 

[Weeg]

@Tonyroo I don't wash my eggs, they go straight in a carton and into the fridge.

I just put 3 eggs that may be fertile/may not into the incubator - I will update the progress on my GemmaGA hatch-a-long thread!!!

I would set more. You want to get at least 2 chicks, and the likleyhood of two drops by a lot when you only set 3 eggs. I would set 6, especially since they've been refrigerated.

 

[GemmaGA]

I would set more. You want to get at least 2 chicks, and the likleyhood of two drops by a lot when you only set 3 eggs. I would set 6, especially since they've been refrigerated.

Egg-cellent suggestion!!! I will set a few more!

 

[MysteryChicken]

As long as you keep the bator clean of course. Just wash hands between, or wear rubber gloves. That should work fine for washed eggs.

I sterilize my incubator after first washing, & wash my hands before reaching in for any reason.

I did have a case of 5 chicks in my old incubator(Eggs were not washed) that died of Mushy Chick Disease. Fine eggs zero cracks.
Yolk sacks were green, & unabsorbed.

 

[MysteryChicken]

It's a Choice really if you want to wash them, or not though.

I do incubate both washed, & unwashed eggs(Not at the same time), but that's just the way I roll.

 

[GemmaGA]

The incubator is brand new, this is the first time I have ever used it - the other eggs already in there were eggs I got from others (various breeds).

Hatch-a-long thread here:
GemmaGA's Hatch-a-long thread

 

[Ridgerunner]

In the last part of the mating act the rooster hop off, the hen stands up, fluffs up, and shakes. This fluffy shake gets the sperm in a special container where it can remain viable anywhere from 1-1/2 weeks to over three weeks. There is an excellent chance that most of the eggs laid 2 weeks after the last mating are fertile. Setting extra eggs was a real good idea, greatly improves your chances. Let us know your results.

There are ideal conditions for storing hatching eggs. If you are close to those conditions eggs can remain viable for a pretty long time. But the further you are from those ideal conditions the faster the eggs become not viable. It is not a case where all the eggs go bad at a certain time, some are tougher than others. The ideal storage temperature is around 55 F (13 C), eggs should be turned, and humidity should be fairly high. You can get different temperatures in different locations in the same refrigerator. They will be well below 55 F but may not be that far off. You won't be turning them and humidity is usually pretty low. Not ideal conditions.

That doesn't mean eggs stored in the refrigerator won't hatch. The odds of them hatching drops the longer they are stored but some can be really tough. As you've seen from some of the posts above some can hatch. In a hot climate without air conditioning storing them in the refrigerator may be the best you can do, but for most of us we can do better if we plan for it.

You did not plan for this. If I had my choice between two week old refrigerated eggs and eggs laid two weeks after a mating I'd go with the fresher eggs. But if I did not have that choice I'd try the refrigerated eggs and hope for the best.

 

[Al Capon]

My beloved rooster, Scuba, who was like a pet to me (he was awesome!) was killed by a predator about 2 weeks ago. I am pretty sure I had collected fertile eggs before he was taken, but they have been in the refrigerator.

Even if I did have fertilized eggs, it's probably been too long for them to be viable to hatch, correct?

Sorry if it's a dumb question - was just thinking maybe I could hatch a little half-Scuba

Meet Fridge, short for Refrigerator chicken.

About 4 years ago I was in the same situation. A bud of mine had some chickens and a predator was slowly picking them off.

He had a barnyard mix rooster that was darn nice. Great around people and protected his hens with authority during daylight. But one night his luck ran out and the predator took him off the roost, and that was the that, as they say. (Later caught and terminated the culprit, a big tom bobcat)

Meanwhile I'd been helping my bud on a kitchen redo. During the entire process, there was a bowl of eggs that had been sitting on the counter in the kitchen. They sat on the counter for at least 2 weeks before they got put in a egg crate and stuck in the fridge. I was given a couple dozen of eggs to take home, I though I'd boil them and give them back to my chickens as food, so I put them in my fridge in the garage at home, and kinda forgot about them.

At least 2 weeks later I remembered that those eggs in the fridge were from the departed rooster, and I got to wondering the same thing. The only incubator I had at the time was a mini Brinsea, so I picked out 7 of the biggest and best looking eggs and put them on the kitchen table to warm up overnight, then into the incubator they went.

Now these eggs had been sitting on the table in a bowl for the better part of 2 weeks, before they went in the fridge for at least 2 weeks, with no turning to accommodate the air cell. So I wasn't expecting any to actually be fertile, much less make it.

Out of 7 eggs, surprisingly, 2 were viable and started showing signs of growth. Out of the 2 viable eggs, 1 made it to full term.

Hence, Fridge chicken.

Fridge started life out backwards, she pipped on the wrong end of the egg, likely due to lack of egg movement in the carton, when the air cell settled on the wrong end. I did chip the egg all the way around when it looked like she wasn't going to make it. I figured why not, it's come this far. Would be a shame to lose it in that fashion.

After I chipped away the egg shell around the circumference, she was able to push out on her own.

Fridge had to be part "production red" of some sort because she was an egg laying machine. I kept track and weighed each egg for a full year, basically from year 1 to year 2. Fridge layed 269 eggs during that year with an average egg weight of 68.6 grams/egg, for a total of 40.68 lbs of eggs. I've never had another chicken come close.

Sadly, shortly after her 2nd birthday, Fridge came down with egg peritonitis and the vet put her down.

She was a dandy of a chicken. But I never would have had the opportunity if I hadn't rolled the dice on the refrigerator eggs.

If you've got the time and aren't expecting much, give it a shot, you might get lucky.

I would set more. You want to get at least 2 chicks, and the likleyhood of two drops by a lot when you only set 3 eggs. I would set 6, especially since they've been refrigerated.

 

[bhaugh]

If I can hatch eggs from Trader Joe's, you can hatch yours! I've actually gotten better hatches when the eggs were refrigerated. Give it a go. If you don't, you may end up regretting it.