The Great Egg Shipping Experiment!

[mollybuck]

i just set another 10 shipped eggs last night. there were 12 in the box and the box was in good shape, but when I opened, the first egg, right on top was smashed.. then one of the eggs on the bottom was as well. they were wrapped in bubble wrap.. with shredded paper fill, biut it appeared to me that the fill still allowed them to move around and settle to the outside. I candled them after they sat for about 36 hours, and the rest didnt look too bad, 2 detached air cells, but none appeared scrambled, so we will see..

out of the 16 that are on day 14 for my other shipped eggs, only 4 are still going. i had to remove 2 blood rings last night. i hadnt candled for a week, trying not to handle them much, but it doesnt appear to help.

on a side note.. all 20 of my own eggs are looking fabulous! i set a double yolker as well, not expecting anything from it really. one of them quit at day 7, but i looked last night and the other is big and moving all around. I cant bring myself to pull it, but I know that it wont make it.. and if it does, it will be a mess at hatch time...

 

[IrishAcreFarm]

I sold some eggs..all went to the person unharmed..not even one micro crack... only 7 eggs 6+ 1 extra ,the person has 3 developing./ still going at 2 + weeks .wrote me i said he/she... wanted /expected 5 chicks out of 6 eggs..but i have extra's so..i said just shipping i will resend you some even more 8........they are going to report the first sale  to ebay saying she got damaged goods but paid the invoice new invoice for shipping...... ..... They are still getting 50% I have spent lots and gotten 0% to hatch before..some people just don't get shipped eggs are not the same as going a getting an egg from a nest box and popping it in the incubator....ON a happy note I have 15 due to hatch that were old and hidden had to be by my 2 smallest hens found them muddy and nasty in a youngster hiding area..and an unknown age ...  I popped them in to see what happened all 16 started only one quit...now to sell the chicks i really don't need 15 more dorkings

Wow, i cant believe that person is acting like that! They should be grateful they have some developing!

 

[Alaskan]

Just wanted to let everyone here know I tested the Express Shipping Is Better Handling theory, and it's not true.  I paid $44.95 to ship eggs from Maine to CO, 22 eggs, shipped Saturday, didn't arrive until yesterday, 7 of the eggs were broken.  Packaging wasn't the best but should have been adequate.  There were NO markings on the box, which may have contributed - seems to me if you don't even say the package is fragile, it doesn't matter what kind of shipping you pay for, the package is going to be mauled.  Really depressed at this point.  With 7 of the eggs broken I don't hold out much hope for the other 15.  They will rest the full 24 hours before going into the incubator.

Sad.... My first set if shipped eggs was a bit like that. It looked like the box had been gently dropped from a second story building. The box perfect, eggs cracked.

Anyway, I got three healthy and one healthy but one eyed chick from that bunch. I had set 13 perfect eggs (but some I had to gently rinse off) and two cracked (neither one of those made it)

i just set another 10 shipped eggs last night. there were 12 in the box and the box was in good shape, but when I opened, the first egg, right on top was smashed.. then one of the eggs on the bottom was as well.  they were wrapped in bubble wrap.. with shredded paper fill, biut it appeared to me that the fill still allowed them to move around and settle to the outside. I candled them after they sat for about 36 hours, and the rest didnt look too bad, 2 detached air cells, but none appeared scrambled, so we will see.. 

out of the 16 that are on day 14 for my other shipped eggs, only 4 are still going. i had to remove 2 blood rings last night. i hadnt candled for a week, trying not to handle them much, but it doesnt appear to help.  

on a side note.. all 20 of my own eggs are looking fabulous! i set a double yolker as well, not expecting anything from it really. one of them quit at day 7, but i looked last night and the other is big and moving all around. I cant bring myself to pull it, but I know that it wont make it.. and if it does, it will be a mess at hatch time...  

Wow! The joys/un-joys of shipped eggs!

 

[misbhaven]

I think the person I had issues with just didn't know about shipped eggs.....their tone was never really nasty etc.. I educated her and just sent some more.they paid the shipping ..I explained if you want or hope for 4 to 5 chicks then you needed a dozen eggs not 6....that if everything and all the planets line up and you cross your finger you might get 3 chicks out of 6 well 7.. I had sent 1 extra...
Fertility is not an issue for me, and I seem to have my packaging down I haven't had even one egg broken yet, a person in the same state got a 11/13 hatch..

 

[misbhaven]

i just set another 10 shipped eggs last night. there were 12 in the box and the box was in good shape, but when I opened, the first egg, right on top was smashed.. then one of the eggs on the bottom was as well. they were wrapped in bubble wrap.. with shredded paper fill, biut it appeared to me that the fill still allowed them to move around and settle to the outside. I candled them after they sat for about 36 hours, and the rest didnt look too bad, 2 detached air cells, but none appeared scrambled, so we will see..

out of the 16 that are on day 14 for my other shipped eggs, only 4 are still going. i had to remove 2 blood rings last night. i hadnt candled for a week, trying not to handle them much, but it doesnt appear to help.

on a side note.. all 20 of my own eggs are looking fabulous! i set a double yolker as well, not expecting anything from it really. one of them quit at day 7, but i looked last night and the other is big and moving all around. I cant bring myself to pull it, but I know that it wont make it.. and if it does, it will be a mess at hatch time...

I hate when that happens the only time I ever complain is when they don't spend the extra 2 minutes to pack the box full of filler...I got some yesterday that were not broke no inner carton tons of the big bubble wrap then they made a pouch and stuck eggs wrapped in that white shipping foam inside the pouch..but the key is the box was full so nothing could move or shift...no matter what you use it seems most of the damage i have had is round indentations from eggs rolling into one another
etc..

 

[Alaskan]

I agree... Wiggle room is BAD

 

[bamadude]

Alot of people who mail glass things use the bags from boxed wine to fill voids.

 

[islandgirl348]

First shipped orders arrived today. What I thought was going to be the most successful packing faired the worst!
1st Priority Mail box was shipped from PA to me in Maine. Large Priority Mail Box (12"x8") marked "Fragile" on each side with up arrows. Each egg wrapped in thin bubblewrap (open top & bottom) placed big end up in a styrofoam egg carton- kind of stuffed in, didn't fit too well, carton taped closed, bubblewrap around the carton, peanuts over and under, air pillows in the corner - 12 gorgeous Copper Marans arrived all with no problems!

2nd box shipped from NC. Marked "Fragine, Hatching Eggs" Thin pressboard box packed inside another pressboard box - very tight fit. In the inside box folded newspapers lined the top bottom and sides. 1/4 " thick or so. Eggs individually wrapped in bubble wrap, top & bottoms open, all wrapped together in a sheet of bubblewrap 9 Creme Legbars shipped, all 9 came through fine. I ordered 6! One has some hairline cracks that don't go through the shell, they almost look like they are drawn on. I don't need to worry about this do I?

3rd box came from SC, outside of box clearly marked "Fragile Live Hatching Eggs/Embryos. Please Do not Xray, This side UP" on all sides. Outside Box was a Prioritiy Mail Box 10"x12"5 1/4" (I think this should have been bigger) The inside Priority Mail Box 7"x10 1/4"x5" had very little room top & bottom between it and the outer box. They did put some shredded paper there but a very think layer. There was wadded up paper around the sides. The inside box had each egg wrapped individually in bubble wrap, bottoms taped shut - good thing there was goo in lots of them but didn't get on the other eggs. Shredded paper between and around. Packaging looked great, eggs not so much. We lost 7 out of the 15 Bresse shipped.



The only think that I can think that might have done different is a bigger box outside box? But then again if the one postal employee that was determined to kick a fragile box came across it, there was probably nothing that would have helped.

So, mixed, mostly successful shipping, we'll see what hatching is like.

 

[islandgirl348]

First shipped orders arrived today. What I thought was going to be the most successful packing faired the worst!
1st Priority Mail box was shipped from PA to me in Maine. Large Priority Mail Box (12"x8") marked "Fragile" on each side with up arrows. Each egg wrapped in thin bubblewrap (open top & bottom) placed big end up in a styrofoam egg carton- kind of stuffed in, didn't fit too well, carton taped closed, bubblewrap around the carton, peanuts over and under, air pillows in the corner - 12 gorgeous Copper Marans arrived all with no problems!

2nd box shipped from NC. Marked "Fragile, Hatching Eggs" Thin pressboard box packed inside another pressboard box - very tight fit. In the inside box folded newspapers lined the top bottom and sides. 1/4 " thick or so. Eggs individually wrapped in bubble wrap, top & bottoms open, all wrapped together in a sheet of bubblewrap 9 Creme Legbars shipped, all 9 came through fine. I ordered 6! One has some hairline cracks that don't go through the shell, they almost look like they are drawn on. I don't need to worry about this do I?



3rd box came from SC, outside of box clearly marked "Fragile Live Hatching Eggs/Embryos. Please Do not Xray, This side UP" on all sides. Outside Box was a Prioritiy Mail Box 10"x12"5 1/4" (I think this should have been bigger) The inside Priority Mail Box 7"x10 1/4"x5" had very little room top & bottom between it and the outer box. They did put some shredded paper there but a very think layer. There was wadded up paper around the sides. The inside box had each egg wrapped individually in bubble wrap, bottoms taped shut - good thing there was goo in lots of them but didn't get on the other eggs. Shredded paper between and around. Packaging looked great, eggs not so much. We lost 7 out of the 15 Bresse shipped.




The only think that I can think that might have done different is a bigger box outside box? But then again if the one postal employee that was determined to kick a fragile box came across it, there was probably nothing that would have helped.

So, mixed, mostly successful shipping, we'll see what hatching is like.

 

[Wisher1000]

Thanks for sharing, Islandgirl, I can't wait for hatch rate reports! Welcome aboard.