The longest you've let an egg set out before Incubating it?

[HenThymes]

Just a curiosity question for others that incubate, the longest you've let an egg set out before putting it in the incubator?? Did it hatch?

I think the longest I have gone is 14 days and they have still hatched. Is there a true time limit, besides if they start to smell!?!

 

[Three Cedars Silkies]

The "time limit" is probably several months but after 10 days fertility does drop very slightly and continues to drop over time. I believe what I read was like 2% or something like that. People freak about "fresh eggs" all the time and for shipping, it probably is better to have the freshest eggs possible.

However many people don't refrigerate their eggs at all and just leave them in a basket on the counter.

Old farmers used to save their eggs beginning in the winter and start incubating them in the spring when the weather warms up....and they had great hatches.

I've done quite a bit of research on this subject and found it very interesting.

For the eggs that I incubate of my own...I've been known to refrigerate them for up to a month to collect enough to fill the incubator (when I had just a few cochins) and have had 100% hatches....go figure....