storing hatching eggs to sell

[ninja333pirate]

I know you need to turn them several times a day (I use egg cartons and prop up one end then switch what end is propped up to turn them. and that they need to be stored in a fairly stable non extreme temperature. just wondering how you all organize them to make sure you don't sell eggs that are too old, how old do you let your eggs get before removing them from your hatching egg stock? and how do you store them to save space and make it more convenient to store them?

I plan on selling them locally so no shipping, I also don't want to be writing all over the egg cartons so a way to organize them by date collected would be great. I also plan on hatching a select amount of them as well.

 

[Perris]

Don't turn them until you're incubating them.

Write the day of lay in pencil on the egg (and the breed, if there's any chance of confusion).

Store big end up or down (people argue which is best) in a cool but not refrigerated place. If you add eggs systematically to a tray in store, it will be easy to know which are oldest by their position on the tray - oldest at the front for example.

Freshest is best for hatching eggs; some people succeed with month-old eggs but I wouldn't try it, and if you sell such, expect complaints. A natural clutch would be built up by a hen over a week or two, so I would follow nature for your limits.

Good luck!

 

[ninja333pirate]

Don't turn them until you're incubating them.

Write the day of lay in pencil on the egg (and the breed, if there's any chance of confusion).

Store big end up or down (people argue which is best) in a cool but not refrigerated place. If you add eggs systematically to a tray in store, it will be easy to know which are oldest by their position on the tray - oldest at the front for example.

Freshest is best for hatching eggs; some people succeed with month-old eggs but I wouldn't try it, and if you sell such, expect complaints. A natural clutch would be built up by a hen over a week or two, so I would follow nature for your limits.

Good luck!

so they don't need to be turned before hand? I heard so many people say that they tilt their egg carton and switch it up a couple of times a day because the yolk could get stuck to the egg wall if it sits in one position too long. If that is the case then I have like a half a bucket of eggs that I can choose from for my own hatching purposes. thanks for the info!

 

[Aapomp831]

I have never, ever turned my eggs before incubating. The last clutch we hatched were from week and a half to two week old eggs. They simply sat in the container next to the incubator in a room that’s usually 68degrees - had a very successful hatch.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I'll include a link from one or the extension services on how to store eggs for hatching. It might help you.

https://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu...e-Cartwright-Incubating-and-hatching-eggs.pdf

This article contains some "if's". We all have different conditions so we can get different results even if we do the same thing. Pay attention to the "if's".

If you store the eggs in "ideal" conditions they can go a long time and still hatch. It is not a case that at a certain point they all go from yes, most will hatch to all of a sudden none will hatch, but it's about hatchability. The longer they are stored the less likely they are to hatch. So your hatch rate gradually drops, it doesn't fall off of a cliff. The further you are from ideal conditions the faster hatchability drops. I store my eggs in way too low humidity and warmer than their suggestions. I can go a week without a drop in hatchability. I haven't gone longer than a week often enough to try to determine what my sweet spot might be with my methods of storage, when does hatchability noticeably drop. It's dangerous to make too many assumptions based on one hatch. There are too many different things that can affect a hatch. But do pay attention so you can maybe detect a pattern in your results when you incubate.

Just because they say you don't have to do something doesn't mean it hurts to do it. You don't have to turn the eggs during the first days of storage. You don't have to turn them during the last few days of incubation, say after 14 days. But it doesn't hurt to turn them as long as you stop before lockdown. Even then, some people on here said they lost track of lockdown and continued to turn them and still got decent hatches. Continuing to turn probably won't kill all of them but it can reduce hatchability. Even though we don't have to keep turning them we tend to stop turning at lockdown because that is when it is convenient for us to stop turning then. So plan what you do so it is convenient to you.

I noticed you do not plan to mail them, it will all be local. I don't know if you will transport them or if your customers will pick them up. In either case the eggs should be well cushioned when they are transported. Excessive shaking can greatly reduce hatchability. I made that mistake once and blame shaking them on a rough country road for only getting 10 chicks out of 30 eggs.

I don't know how many different breeds or species you might have or what your facilities look like so how you store them and keep them straight is up to you. It has never bothered me to get hatching eggs with something written on them but if you are planning on selling or giving away the older eggs I could see why you don't want to do that.

Good luck on your adventure.

 

[ninja333pirate]

I have never, ever turned my eggs before incubating. The last clutch we hatched were from week and a half to two week old eggs. They simply sat in the container next to the incubator in a room that’s usually 68degrees - had a very successful hatch.

Thats great to hear, makes it easier to deal with them then. Thanks!