The Great Egg Shipping Experiment!

[1kluckychik]

Hum, then why did you do it? See if it got beat up less?

I was thinking that the medium flat rate $13.80 box would cost more than a weighed box. Just trying to save $$$$

 

[Alaskan]

Yeah, never know.

 

[1kluckychik]

Lol. I know now

 

[1kluckychik]

Well I paid the $10.35 for USPS "special handling".
The ayam cemani eggs were shipped from VT to AL last Wednesday. They arrived 6 days later. 10 have detached aircells, 3 are cracked, and 1 has a huge aircell.

 

[Alaskan]

Wow!

 

[ChcknNurse]

I

Just received one of the unhappiest package of eggs ever. Actually, the seller packed the eggs very well: double boxed, each egg individually bubble wrapped, great packing between the boxes. He sent them promptly, Priority Express as requested. He sent extras.

And then he packed every single egg small end up. And did not mark the box 'fragile', 'hatching eggs' or anything other than 'this end up' (which was the wrong end up).

Every single air cell is broken and free-rolling.  Sigh. I don't give them much hope.

I hatched 90 eggs last year, more than dozen were shipped from Florida & Georgia to Pa. One wasn't held as requested by post office. The other was en route for 2 extra days and arrived with a huge gouge in the side of the box. By the way, I did work with UPS for a time, so I KNOW how trucks are unloaded (insert eyes rolling here, lol).

One group was shipped with part of the eggs on their sides - and some upside-down - wondered did they not realize that it mattered--? They were all bubble wrapped pretty well, no cracks. Air cells were worse on the poorly positioned group... Completely detached and most were completely rolling!

I studied them carefully and made notes on each one. I had guidance from someone more experienced. I let them set in proper position, as was recommended (I think I did 12, maybe 24 hours) at room temp. I rechecked the aircells and noticed no changes. But after the incubator began, the air cells gradually improved. Out of all of those eggs, discounting the couple that I discovered were infertile after 10 days, all except 1 hatched. 1 died in the shell.

 

[chicken curious]

All the posts on this thread have given me hope and courage to try shipped eggs LOL

Sadly, the seller shipped on a Friday (OH to TX) and the package arrived at my PO just after midnight on Sunday so they sat all day just aging (gah) and then were not marked for pickup so then they spent Monday until 6pm driving around Dallas in the high 80 degree heat (blah).

Box looked fine when it arrived, but smelled slightly amiss. Top was glued shut with dried yolk. Thankfulky they were packed large end up, but see pic for how little they were cushioned AND they were in individual bubble wrap bags so I'm not sure they could breathe. :/

One egg near the middle was broken and two felt like they might have some yolk on them (wiped with slightly damp cloth and have marked) and another just felt kinda damp (not yolk...maybe it was from being wrapped without breathing room?) so I dried it gently and marked it, too.

All that to say, I let them sit a few hours and then candled. I didn't see any rolling air which is great, but I also didn't see an air pocket in all of them (of course I'm just using my phone flashlight to candle and there are limitations!). Fingers crossed! I went ahead and loaded them into my (borrowed) still air LG that had been stable for days. I have them in a cutdown carton big side up and have been rotating the whole carton a few times a day and moving it around the floor of the incubator since the still air has cooler spots, but I haven't removed them from the carton. I *plan* to wait to lay them down and roll/rotate for at least 3 days, maybe 5...maybe 7...thoughts? Or maybe I should leave them in the carton the whole hatch???

 

[Alaskan]

Ew! On the smushed egg.


I would never take them out of the carton.

Watch closely for signs of rotting eggs...in a mess like that, a bomb is more likely.

Good luck.

 

[chicken curious]

Thanks!

If being totally wrapped didn't hurt them, at least it protected most of them from the yolk.

So would I aim to tilt them within their carton hole at all around day 7 or just leave totally upright?

 

[Alaskan]

Rotate them, but rotate them while they are in the carton.

So you are tilting the egg carton first one way, and then the other. About a 45 degree angle.

You can put a super fat book under one end of the incubator, then a few hours later move the book to the opposite end of the incubator.