Storing eggs for hatching

[chickenhart]

Hi Everyone! My husband and I have only 6 hens (and 1 rooster). We want to store enough eggs to hatch in an incubator. If we put the eggs in the refrigerator until we have enough for the incubator, will refrigerated eggs hatch?
Chickenhart

 

[carrlr]

No, refridgerator eggs won't hatch. That's because most refrigerators are below 40 degrees. You can keep eggs at room temp for up to ten days, and they will hatch fine.

 

[SundownWaterfowl]

I store my eggs in the basement, cause it says cool. I also turn the carton several times a day.

 

[buffbeauty]

Supposed to store them between ?? 50-60 degrees, but alot of people just leave them room temp and they hatch also. I think that the fridge would be too cold for them. You can let them set for about 10 days before needing to be put in bator, but Ive seen some post that people wait up to 14. So with all that being said, I am new to all this as well and all my info is from my mom and off of here. Good Luck!!

 

[A.T. Hagan]

Yes, refrigerated eggs WILL hatch. My very first hatch ever we set thirty five turkey eggs that had been in the refrigerator from one to ten days (accumulating eggs like you). One was clear, thirty four went into the hatching trays, thirty one succesfully hatched.

I've got bantam and large fowl chicken eggs in my box now that were all refrigerated before incubating. They should start hatching tomorrow night.

There is at least one thread here on the board of people hatching store bought fertile eggs. They were sold as table eggs, but they've hatched them.

It's best to store eggs between 45-55 degrees at a fairly high humidity. That's best, but if you don't have any place like that (we sure don't here in Florida at this time of year) you can keep them in the fridge.

We do turn our hatching eggs twice a day while in they are in the fridge.

 

[pgpoultry]

Refrigerated eggs will hatch, but better to store at room temperature (assuming room temperature is those temperatures that humans are comfortable in) and with the pointed ends down. I do not believe that it is necessary to turn them before incubation starts.
Sandie

 

[buffbeauty]

That's cool AT Hagan. Haven't heard that!! I'm been trying to figure out a way to store eggs cooler since no basement. Like you in fla it's hot here too in Arkansas. Wish I had a nice cool basement/cellar

 

[Ridgerunner]

This article will probably help you improve your odds of getting a good hatch. It talks quite a bit about storing eggs for hatching.

You don't necessarily have to follow every recommendation or suggestion to the letter. These things are guidelines to improve your odds, not absolute laws of nature. People, including me, violate some of these all the time and still get decent hatches. Following these exactly will not guarantee you a good hatch, nor will violating a few of these absolutely guarantee you a poor hatch. These guidelines are intended to improve your odds, not make guarantees.

An example as clearly stated by others in this thread, refrigerated eggs will often hatch and will sometimes hatch well. There are a lot of factors involved, including how cold the refrigerator actually is. The professionals that hatch 100,000 eggs a week do not refrigerate their eggs at normal refrigerator temperatures. They have found that they get better hatches if they store them at slightly warmer temperatures and a percent difference in hatch rate is critical to them. They watch the humidity a lot closer than I do too. Many people store their eggs at room temperature. So do I. But if your room temperature is high, like in the 80's, that can really drop your hatch rate too. Storing in the warm spots of your refrigerator might be better? We all have different conditions.

Texas A&M Incubation site
http://gallus.tamu.edu/library/extpublications/b6092.pdf

I know the article says you do not have to turn the eggs for the first week of storage, but I put the turner from my incubator in the coolest room in the house and store the eggs in it until I have enough. Just because you don't "have" to turn them does not mean that it hurts.

 

[chickenhart]

Thanks to all of you for your helpful answers to my question re: storage of chicken eggs before incubation.

We'll try a dedicated refrig becasue it is unusually hot right now in MI. The article cited by Ridgerunner was interesting and will guide us!!
Chickenhart

 

[Bill64]

I read these articles several weeks back, and decided to see for myself how storing eggs in my fridge works. First some background. I have been living in Cambodia for 5+ years, and storing at room temp here is about 95-100 degrees! No cool rooms. My option is A) Storing in an airconditioned room which will give me about 80 degrees, or putting them in the fridge at about 45 degrees. Well, after several weeks of storing, randomly, half the eggs I collect in each of those spots, I am getting about 50% of the room temp eggs to hatch, and 40% of the fridge eggs to hatch. Also the AIRCON room eggs weigh about 2 grams less than the fridge eggs when they head to the incubator, the AC sucks out the wetness inside much faster then the fridge. I have considered trying to store them in a big cooler filled with ice perhaps? I put eggs in the incubator every Friday, so eggs laid Saturday have 6 days to sit around. Any other ideas will be welcomed!