Stooooopid newbie questino on egg storage

[Taylorhens]

Hi all,
I am thinking of trying to hatch some eggs and trying to learn before I dive in. I have a really basic question...

I was reading in the sticky note that eggs should be stored between 55-60 degrees before being put in the incubator. How / where do you do this? That is cooler than I can keep my house even if I run the A/C 24X7, and yet the refrigerator is obviously much too cold. So where do you store them while you're saving up a batch to incubate?

Thanks in advance. I will probably post a million questions over the next month.

Vickie

 

[dkvart1]

Greetings and

sorry I can't answer your question, I'm rather new myself and am not even close to getting a chicken (like getting "A" chicken would even be possible... my list has gone from 4-5 to about 25 so far!

) but you'll get an answer quickly around here, lots of great folks willing to help us new kids!

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Do you have a basement, porch or closet that stays cooler. I kept mine on the back porch that stays cooler this time of year. It won't work in warmer weather. I don't freak out too much as long as it stays under 70.

 

[Taylorhens]

Quote:
Boy do I hear you, dkvart1! I started out thinking I just wanted 2 or 3 hens to get some eggs for myself, and now here I am talking about hatching!

Chickens are addicting.

 

[Taylorhens]

Quote:
Chicken Canoe,
I'm in Texas...the land without basements...and temps already in the 80s and soon to be in the 90s during the day. I'll have to check, but I doubt even my closets are that cold. I was thinking maybe a cooler with a cold pack on the bottom...leave the lid open...set the eggs up on a rack well above the cold pack (not sitting on it). I may try that with just laying a thermometer in there and see what temperature I get...

Any other ideas?

 

[tiffanyg2]

Quote:
Boy do I hear you, dkvart1! I started out thinking I just wanted 2 or 3 hens to get some eggs for myself, and now here I am talking about hatching!

Chickens are addicting.

Haha me to! I might need to find a way to buy some new property~ now I kinda wish I lived out in the middle of nowhere to support my chicken fetish

 

[A.T. Hagan]

There are ideal conditions and there are conditions that can be made to work for your particular circumstances.

I keep all of my hatching eggs in the refrigerator this time of year. No part of my house is ever at 55 degrees (inside). The top shelf of my refrigerator works just fine. If it's going to take a week or more to get enough eggs I turn them once a day otherwise they just wait in egg cartons until I'm ready. I typically get better than 90% hatches on my chicken eggs. Just make sure not to put them in a cold spot where they might freeze.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I hear you on the problem of where to store them. I have that same issue here in the summer. I just keep them in the coolest place I can find and go with it. It is not an ideal solution and I think it does cause the older eggs to hatch a bit early. If you are only storing them a very few days, it probably does not make that much difference, but I think it does make some. I do get pretty good hatch rates with say less than a week's storage, but hatch was stretched out more than normal.

A. T. makes a good point. It is possible a refrigerator is closer to the ideal than the rest of your house and not all places in the refrigerator are the same temperature. The warmest spot in your refrigerator may be a better place. Or, if you are willing to go to that much trouble, try to find one of those small "dorm room" refrigerators, maybe on Craig'slist as college lets out for the summer, set it on a high setting, and keep it in your garage or wherever.

When I store them, I take the turner out of the incubator, plug it in, and store the eggs on it. That way I don't have to worry about turning them. According to a Texas A&M incubation article, you don't absolutely have to turn them the first week, but it sure does not do any harm.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

The refrigerator can be turned up for the few days it takes to collect. Shouldn't have a negative impact on your food.
I've heard of refrigerated eggs from the Trader Joe's hatching.

 

[FireTigeris]

Or you can get from a yard sale one of those tiny refrigerators, only to be used for collected eggs, and set it at 50*F and then choose what to hatch and not...

try to spend $25 or less on it and plug it is to listen in the compressor comes on...

I'd use an indoor/outdoor digital thomometer to set the temp.

I just lay them on my counter myself in a carton, big side up and have 'ok' hatch rates with old (7-10 days) eggs... my house is 70-75*F year-round.