The woes of shipped eggs

[goatsoap]

OK, I keep thinking I am basically doing something wrong. I raise polish. Have hatched out hundreds of eggs without problem (98% hatch rate). I decided I would get better quality by buying eggs, since hatching was so easy. HA. Bought 5 tolbunt/GL eggs, one hatched and died a month later. Got eggs off ebay (black crested whites) had one hatch out of 12. Bought 2 DOZEN tolbunt/crele eggs - candled two weeks later - down to 13 eggs. Had one hatch two days ago. I know it is an air space (down the side of the egg) problem, but is there anything that can be done? None of the other chicks made it to hatching. Like all the others, looks like they died about a week before time. So far I have tried:
- putting immediately on the egg turners after receiving
- leave sitting for 24 hours, then put half in incubator with turners and half in incubator without turners and turning 4-5 times a day
- leave sitting for 24 hours, then put in incubator without turning for 2-3 days, then put on turners.

I put eggs in as I collect them, sometimes only 2-3 a day. Mine are still hatching out without problem.

I gave away a lot of eggs b/c I had no room in the bators. They were mailed all over the place. One person sent an email back that 10 out of 11 hatched, another had 3 out of 5. One person was nice enough to send me a bunch of (non-polish) eggs - I shared with a friend - 70% hatched between us, so pretty sure it is not a mailman conspiracy.

 

[justtoni44]

I do not have the answer.just feel better I am not alone....
Have some good hatches and the last two.nothing.............

 

[Katy]

I am on the verge of not selling hatching eggs anymore. I have great hatches here at home but it seems like anymore on most packages the PO has done a number on them by the time they reach the buyer and the hatches aren't that great. I didn't get my birds to sell hatching eggs anyway, but because they are the kind I enjoy and wanted to have. I think I'm just going to sell eating eggs at our local farmer's market and maybe a few hatching eggs at the local poultry auction. I hadn't bought many hatching eggs in the last couple of years but this season I did buy some and had for the most part terrible hatches. I really think it's the shipping because my own eggs I was incubating in the same incubators hatched well.

 

[Razadia]

Sometimes it's the breeder's fault. It could be that the breeders aren't giving their flock the nutrients they need. If I remember right, it's usually because the chickens aren't getting enough protein. I could be wrong, but this is what I remember. I haven't gotten shipped eggs yet (need a job for that and I'm still working on it), but I know it can be a gamble to get them. Temp during transit, feeding, handling during transit, and other things like that can be major problems that effect your hatch.

As I normally say when I'm not 100% sure on something, someone correct me if I'm wrong.

 

[ADozenGirlz]

Hatching shipped eggs is tricky. First, they're not as fresh as the eggs you get from your own hens and you're never really sure when they were laid. Regardless of the breeder, the eggs will necessarily be older than you would ideally like them to be.

50% is actually considered a decent hatch rate for shipped eggs. Sad, but true.

Heaven knows what goes on at the post office these days. I ship egg carton labels and have had several customers tell me that the packages have arrived mangled, torn and/or wet! <sigh> I can't imagine they treat boxes of eggs any more gently.

 

[gamebirdsonly]

Quote:
Well I had same problem with tolbunt eggs the last two years 3 different breeders and around $300.00 and not even one egg grew. Most all the air sacs were detached or scrambeled

 

[RachaelS]

I am not an expert, but when you are leaving them “sitting” are the sitting pointy side down? Also, when you take them out of the turner are you putting them on their sides or putting them in an egg cartoon pointy side down? From what I have heard it is best to never lay a shipped egg on its side during any part of the process. I put them on their side with my first to sets and had horrible hatch rates, only 1 hatched, on this third set none have been on their sides since I opened the box and as of today 7 have hatched. There were, of course, a LOT of other variables with the 3rd set (such as lower humidity, different breeders, 3 thermometers) but just a thought.

 

[goatsoap]

I would really like to blame it on the fact that most of them are tolbunt crosses or polish in general. Just odd that mine don't hatch and the ones I mail other people seem to just fine.

I leave the eggs sitting with the pointed end down, put in the turns with the pointed end down, and have done the manual turning both ways, lying on side and in a carton with the bottoms cut out. Has not made any difference.

Even though there is an air sac the length of the shell, going to wait until the end of the weekend to toss 23 tolbunt/crele eggs in the gully. Hatch date was 3 days ago. So sad.

My problem is that I just want them. I bought some polish, then researched on care, colors, etc. Had never had chickens before. Ran across the tolbunts and decided that I had to have some. They are just so stunning. It was then that I realized how few there are and how hard they are to obtain. The real irony is being so astonished at how much GFF sold those for a few weeks ago, and to realize that I have spent half of that already on eggs that did not hatch. LOL

 

[TennesseeTruly]

Quote:
I'm with Katy here. I'm on the verge of not selling hatching eggs anymore. My hatches are 90 to 100% but the Post Office is doing a horrible job and scrambling the eggs terribly. I had 100% feedback on Ebay and just this past month I've gotten 2 neutrals and a negative. Two different buyers telling me that my Runner eggs are infertile. I'm having near 100% fertility here at home as my drake to duck ratio is 1:2.

Between that and Ebay seller fees have gone through the roof, I think I'm done selling except locally. We all have our woes.

 

[hannakat]

Don't have any answers.....just sympathy over something so frustrating.