The Great Egg Shipping Experiment!

[ronott1]

Quote:
Candle Duck Eggs!

Off to candle Duck Eggs....

 

[buckabucka]

I would also be interested in how they were packaged.

[COLOR=800080]One box,the eggs were in bubble wrap but not in a egg carton,they were on their sides and news paper stuffed in around them.I think they would have faired better if they had been in a egg carton and more news paper to make it tighter.[/COLOR]

[COLOR=800000]My concern is that there is no "give" to individual eggs in an egg carton.  In the batch I sent to Jess, there was a lone broken egg in the center of the cluster.  What this says to me is that there was downward pressure on the center of the box causing that egg to be crushed from above.  If it had been in an egg carton, would the top of the carton have distributed the force across a larger area, crushing more eggs? [/COLOR]

[COLOR=800000]I don't know, it's all speculation.  If I had more eggs, and more money, I would send several boxes of eggs to the same destination, each packed differently to see which worked best. [/COLOR]

[COLOR=800000]So far in this experiment, I have determined that 1) This method, a modified Skyline (or Wisher Method ) works quite well and there is little room for improvement without substantial increase in shipping cost.  2) There appear to be more issues with the parent flock than with the perils of shipping.  I have heard many, many people who have had terrible luck with shipped eggs and believe that it is a combination of rough shipping, poor packing, bad eggs (infertile, vitamin or calcium deficient, old stock, low ratios, etc.)[/COLOR]

[COLOR=800000]I have been contemplating a cardboard infrastructure that would support the center of the box better.  Maybe an 'x' of sturdy cardboard with the eggs packed properly in the spaces.[/COLOR]

[COLOR=800000]Do you think that I could get a research grant for that?  [/COLOR]

In my batch, the lone cracked egg was also right in the center. I assumed pressure from above also (like someone used the box as a chair, temporarily )
She had wrapped each egg in paper towels before putting them in the carton, so maybe that offered a little extra protection. Two cartons were taped together, one on top of the other, and then shredded paper packed in tightly around everything.

If you tried the cardboard "X" idea, maybe you would not need to double box?

I wish I could be a fly on the wall, and travel with that box of eggs each step of the way. It would be interesting to see what it was subjected to on it's journey.

 

[ozexpat]

I copied this over from my getting-the-flock-out-of-here thread as it may have relevance here. It really could be a great idea to get the road-warrior byc-ers involved in a hand-carried-plane-ride-shipping experiment

Quote:
TSA is not an issue but its best to make it very easy for them.

Standard check luggage is always xrayed because its fast. At LAX oversized luggage - such as a golf bag is not xrayed as it cannot make the turns on the massive automated conveyer systems. When I check in, I get a luggage tag from the airline and then go to the oversized luggage area and a TSA inspector opens the golf bag and rubs the cloth pieces inside the bag and puts them into the "sniffer" to analyze for explosives residue. They do not open the individual boxes with eggs wrapped in them.

For a small amount of eggs and to be sure you know how they are handled, carry on is easy. When you go to the screener tell them that you have live eggs that you have live eggs that need manual inspection. They may balk if they are new at the job but should ask someone more experienced. I use 3 piece foam inserts. I tape the bottom piece of foam to the larger "holed" piece. They take the eggs and foam out of the box, then put the box through the xray and use the "sniffer" on the eggs while still in the foam. The top piece of foam is not taped so they clearly see the big end of the eggs.






This is the box I carried them in, inside the golf bag. I placed a thermometer with a min/max reading nest to the box to see how cold/hot the golf bag got along the way.

The TSA process adds 5-10 minutes but I would add half an hour.

If traveling internationally, TSA procedures are the same. Its customs in the country you are traveling to that you need to know and meet the requirements as far as documentation goes.

 

[Wisher1000]

Yes, Buck, that was what I was thinking, I have to keep in mind that if I value my time at all, the extra work involved to measure, cut and slit the cardboard might offset the cost of the other box.

Another thought I had was to use two smaller boxes side by side, instead of one, inside the larger box. But then again, there would be time involved in finding the right size boxes on a regular basis.

 

[CayuseRanch]

Hmmmm. Maybe we need to figure out how to send a video camera with an egg shipment. I wonder what they do to cause scrambled eggs... is it turbulence on an aircraft? Those conveyor belts with rollers shaking them up? Bouncy trucks? And what causes the saddle shaped aircells? Is it dramatic pressure changes like in take off and landing? Or are our boxes turned upside down? What can be done for shock absorbsortion or pressure protection?

 

[buckabucka]

Hmmmm. Maybe we need to figure out how to send a video camera with an egg shipment. I wonder what they do to cause scrambled eggs... is it turbulence on an aircraft? Those conveyor belts with rollers shaking them up? Bouncy trucks? And what causes the saddle shaped aircells? Is it dramatic pressure changes like in take off and landing? Or are our boxes turned upside down? What can be done for shock absorbsortion or pressure protection?

I love this idea!

 

[ozexpat]

Hmmmm. Maybe we need to figure out how to send a video camera with an egg shipment. I wonder what they do to cause scrambled eggs... is it turbulence on an aircraft? Those conveyor belts with rollers shaking them up? Bouncy trucks? And what causes the saddle shaped aircells? Is it dramatic pressure changes like in take off and landing? Or are our boxes turned upside down? What can be done for shock absorbsortion or pressure protection?

it should be able to see the outside world through a hole in the box.

 

[Tomtommom]

Weeeelll... You can buy voice recorders quite cheaply and they have a long battery life. I'm sure the sounds would be quite telling!

 

[superchemicalgirl]

Wishes, I'll try to get some photos tonight.

And you need ducks. NEED.

 

[henney penny]

I candled again and dicarded 4 more down to 10 from 17 sent.Not sure of the 10 as I don't trust my candling