She's not doing too bad considering.
Awhile back I was looking for a potential SQ, SOP, Black Australorp cockerel/rooster. I did get one. Before I got him, I had ordered some eggs from a top-of-the-line breeder. I paid $55.00 just for the eggs. They beautifully packed, and were sent in a nice foam egg shipper. When the eggs got here, they were scrambled inside. Nothing really developed. I was so glad to have gotten the cockerel from another source.
3 weeks ago, my daughter comes in with a dozen eggs. The eggs were in a cardboard egg carton, and there was shredded paper in each of the egg slots. The eggs were nested in the paper, then there was more shredded paper on top. The egg carton was in a box with bubble wrap, but she didn't bring that part. Anyway, she wanted me to hatch the eggs she bought.
I asked her about the eggs. There was a lady on e-bay selling them. She contacted the lady, and asked which hatchery her stock came from. The lady said it was not hatchery stock. She said her mother had gotten her original stock from a breeder that showed his chickens. Her mother showed chickens for years, but recently her health had gone downhill. The lady was taking care of her mother, and the chickens. She moved all of the Black Australorps into a big coop and run to make it easier to care for them. She didn't know anything about breeding them, but had plenty of eggs, and decided to see if she could sell some. She was asking $10.00 a carton, plus a minimal shipping cost.
My daughter ordered a dozen. When they arrived, they were in perfect condition, air cells intact, except for 1. 1 of them had a small crack in the shell, but the membrane was intact. I got a blue birthday candle, and filled the crack with wax. I let them sit for 12 hours, then popped them into the incubator. I really want to keep my line up, so I didn't really want a bunch of lesser chicks, but like she said, we can always eat them.
I wondered aloud, how in the world her eggs, which were not packed nearly as nice as the ones I got, managed to arrive to her in such wonderful condition. She explained that, I live in the country. Like my driveway, all the driveways here are 1/2 a mile long, up to 2 miles long. Most of them are not paved. Most of them have pot holes, and/or are washboarded. My postal carriers drive up, and down these driveways at high speeds (40+mph), and at times when they hit a couple good pot holes, they bounce so high, they aren't even touching the ground, then boom they hit the ground. Now picture these poor eggs going up, and down at least 300 - 400 driveways like this, before they get to my house. It's like putting the insides of them in a blender. On the other hand, she lives in the city, much closer to the airport, where the mail comes in. All the roads are paved. The houses are so close together that the mail carrier coasts from one mailbox to the next. No bouncing, no jostling the eggs. She told me next time I ever order eggs, send them to her address.
Before the fist day of lockdown was over, 2 hatched. This morning which was day 3 of lockdown, 3 had hatched, and one was zipping. Tonight, 9 of them are out, and doing fine. All of them have absorbed their yolks, all of them are strong, and doing fine. 3 more to go for 100% hatch rate, and they're trying. I am fit to be tied. I paid good money for some good eggs, that were nicely packed, and got nothing. She paid under $20.00 for "unknown" eggs, that were not packed to great, and they're hatching like gang busters. Sheesh!!!!