The woes of shipped eggs

[crazyeggs]

This is all very interesting. Being a newbie and looking at buying shipped eggs, this thread has been filled with great information. What breeds have you all had the best hatch rate from?

 

[StevenW.]

Your are spose to let the eggs "rest" for at least 24 hours before putting them in the incubator.

 

[TreeHugger]

I've gotten a total of 26 hatching eggs this spring and have hatched 4 chicks. I use my silkies for incubators and the 22 that didn't hatch had either broken air sacs or just didn't develop. I have had better and worse luck in the past with shipped eggs, it's just a gamble you take.

I will say the best hatch I've ever had with shipped eggs were bantam polish eggs that shipped from Washington state (I'm in MO).

 

[kbgh]

We must agree, purchasing eggs via the good ole USPS is like going to a casino, you win a few and lose most of them. We purchased eggs from a very well know breeder/farm who gets great hatch rates, of 18 eggs we got 3 to hatch. At the same time we had 15 of our own eggs in incubator 14 of the 15 hatched.

 

[goatsoap]

And yet, I just posted a WTB for frizzled polish eggs. Somebody obviously needs to take away my mouse.

I hate that everybody seems to have really bad hatch rates sometimes with mailed eggs, but it is comforting to know that it is not me.


I have never checked my humidity. I use LG incubators and keep the water levels full. My eggs hatch fine. It is just the mailed ones.

 

[HiddenHill Heretic]

Just hatched out 18 0f 22 Marans shipped from iowa to California. This was my first experience with shipped eggs. I tried again and got 1 cracked and the others filthy beyond belief. You never know.

 

[eatmorechicken]

Does it help to put a fragile and/or LIVE sticker on the box?

 

[kbgh]

DO NOT PUT "FRAGILE" on the package. "Fragile" is like waving a RED FLAG in front of a fighting bull. "Fragile" seems to make the USPS workers think that everything is well packaged and therefore free game for rough handling.

 

[flitter]

I'm glad to know that it's not just me... Out of three different sets of eBay eggs this spring I had two 0%s and one 100%. Since nothing ever started in the O% batches it could be breeder problems or PO... how would you know. One of these batches came with each egg wrapped tightly with bubble wrap... nothing broke but I wondered if the complete seal of air was good? On the upside...the USPS does a good job delivering day olds, thank goodness.

 

[perolane]

Quote:
Could this possibly be your problem since your eggs hatch for others??

This would mean you have eggs hatching every few days....how are you handling humidity for this rate of hatch & when do the other eggs get a chance to lose the extra moisture??? This may explain your air cell problem.