Some notes on shipped egg fertility

[FowlWitch]

Just thought I'd share. It's kind of disheartening, but this is about my experience with things (this is my third try with eBay eggs).

Edit: don't mind my poor choice of words. It should be "development" instead of "fertility"

 

[R2elk]

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Just thought I'd share. It's kind of disheartening, but this is about my experience with things (this is my third try with eBay eggs).

Just because no development occurs does not necessarily mean that a shipped egg was not fertile. There are a number of different things that can go wrong during shipment such as the eggs being destroyed by being flown in a non-pressurized part of an airplane which can destroy the eggs preventing any signs of development even if the eggs were fertile.

 

[EggSighted4Life]

Hi there.

Shipped eggs can be rough.

But it does not effect FERTILITY. That is completely under control of the seller. I personally make sure where my fertility stands before shipping out or selling to anyone.

I'm not sure I understand your notes though. Example why is the Wyandotte 36% on day 7 but 14% on day 10?

Are you cracking the eggs open to look at the blastodisk/blastoderm?

For what it's worth... I shipped a dozen Silkie eggs inside California last year for a school project. They had 100% fertility but only 8 eggs hatched. Boy were they lucky when they got 7 pullets!

 

[FowlWitch]

Just because no development occurs does not necessarily mean that a shipped egg was not fertile. There are a number of different things that can go wrong during shipment such as the eggs being destroyed by being flown in a non-pressurized part of an airplane which can destroy the eggs preventing any signs of development even if the eggs were fertile.

Ah I meant more about % of eggs that developed. Fertility is just short hand

 

[FowlWitch]

Hi there.

Shipped eggs can be rough.

But it does not effect FERTILITY. That is completely under control of the seller. I personally make sure where my fertility stands before shipping out or selling to anyone.

I'm not sure I understand your notes though. Example why is the Wyandotte 36% on day 7 but 14% on day 10?

Are you cracking the eggs open to look at the blastodisk/blastoderm?

For what it's worth... I shipped a dozen Silkie eggs inside California last year for a school project. They had 100% fertility but only 8 eggs hatched. Boy were they lucky when they got 7 pullets!

I'm using fertility as shorthand. I think development would have been a better word choice, actually. And the % change based on eggs quitting on me. Eggs that looked like they had some development on day 7 failed on day 10. I did write notes directly on the eggs, and the ones that died on day 10 weren't looking so great on day 7 to begin with.

 

[EggSighted4Life]

I'm using fertility as shorthand.

I see you edited your first post to state that.

So, might as well share my only (purchased) shipped eggs hatching results...

I spent $150 on 2 dozen eggs from Florida to California from an NPIP breeder. They sent an extra dozen. Out of 3 dozen eggs... only 3 hatched... and ALL were male. I really cannot remember if others developed and quit or if fertility was actually low... Seems like maybe both, hence the extra dozen sent by the seller.

I love that you are keeping track according to breed even! It can really clue a person into what is going on with their stock. Have I already shared my favorite hatching resource with you? On page 52 is where it starts to tell you what the possible reasons for failure are according to what day they actually failed. Turns out some of my Silkies needed more nutrients even though the feed I provided was good and not diminished by treats... seems like it might have been riboflavin when I discovered the nutrient deficit in my hatching eggs...
Incubation guide

And one more hatch analysis type paper, for informational purposes since I can tell you are paying attention to the details...
https://ufdc.ufl.edu/IR00004437/00001

Buying chicks if you are having to get them shipped seems like a more affordable and viable route for me... IF the seller has a live guarantee for at least 48-72 hours after arrival. Otherwise not for me. Most seem to be charging about half the price of a chick for a hatching egg... with no guarantee of hatch and of it does hatch 50% cockerels. While I agree that hatching is ton of fun... I also agree that shipped eggs on SOME routes give way less than desirable results. As far as I have seen, many E-bay sellers are not NPIP and shipping below the radar... that's another deal breaker for me, I TRY to abide by the law.

 

[R2elk]

I see you edited your first post to state that.

So, might as well share my only (purchased) shipped eggs hatching results...

I spent $150 on 2 dozen eggs from Florida to California from an NPIP breeder. They sent an extra dozen. Out of 3 dozen eggs... only 3 hatched... and ALL were male. I really cannot remember if others developed and quit or if fertility was actually low... Seems like maybe both, hence the extra dozen sent by the seller.

I love that you are keeping track according to breed even! It can really clue a person into what is going on with their stock. Have I already shared my favorite hatching resource with you? On page 52 is where it starts to tell you what the possible reasons for failure are according to what day they actually failed. Turns out some of my Silkies needed more nutrients even though the feed I provided was good and not diminished by treats... seems like it might have been riboflavin when I discovered the nutrient deficit in my hatching eggs...
Incubation guide

And one more hatch analysis type paper, for informational purposes since I can tell you are paying attention to the details...
https://ufdc.ufl.edu/IR00004437/00001

Buying chicks if you are having to get them shipped seems like a more affordable and viable route for me... IF the seller has a live guarantee for at least 48-72 hours after arrival. Otherwise not for me. Most seem to be charging about half the price of a chick for a hatching egg... with no guarantee of hatch and of it does hatch 50% cockerels. While I agree that hatching is ton of fun... I also agree that shipped eggs on SOME routes give way less than desirable results. As far as I have seen, many E-bay sellers are not NPIP and shipping below the radar... that's another deal breaker for me, I TRY to abide by the law.

 

[Florida Bullfrog]

Forgive my ignorance, what is NPIP?

 

[R2elk]

Forgive my ignorance, what is NPIP?

National Poultry Improvement Plan established by the Federal government requiring each state to have their own NPIP program.

 

[EggSighted4Life]

Forgive my ignorance, what is NPIP?

Hi there, hope you're enjoying BYC!

As stated by the other poster... it is in place to prevent certain diseases such as pullorum or fowl typhoid... mostly to protect our food supply chain...
https://www.mypetchicken.com/backya...and-why-should-I-purchase-only-from-H350.aspx

Unfortunately states set their own guidelines and it is not even across the board. In some cases buying from an NPIP certified breeder is simply a false sense of security as there are many things including Marek's that are NOT required to be tested for or reported. But ALL states do require NPIP to ship live fowl or hatching eggs across state lines.

Please, always feel free to ask questions in this community without feeling "ignorant". Learning, sharing, and supporting, it's the backbone of BYC.

Oh, and check out this link for some other abbreviations... (book mark it if ya like)
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/byc-index-of-abbreviations-acronyms.63285/