Tips for a good hatch rate for shipped eggs?

[3 NH reds]

I had problems with shipped eggs as well. Like others my eggs were packed perfectly. Batch one 5 of 12 hatched mainly due to a good Orp broody. Next batch was 0% of 18, One egg was cracked in the bubble wrap and my old incubator would change temp often despite it being in a basement with a constant temp. I got a Hova Bator 1588 for Christmas and I tried 10 eggs, they were some fresh some 9 days old. I got one to hatch, my fault I let the water get out around day 15 and one hatched. Now that spring is here I want to try again and get better results. If the first eggs had never hatched I would have given up. I wish I knew about letting eggs sit after shipping, it would have helped.

 

[Bill 101]

TRAILCHICK ----

Quote:
I do understand that what I said is tough. I've got nothing against truly "unique birds" Unique can mean anything. there are breeds that are unusual & not many of them here in the U.S. Then there are those that are called "Rare" or "unique" that are nothing but cross bred birds that you could hatch a 100 of & never get one like the one they pictured. It's up to the buyer to make that determination, but a lot don't know & assume that it's what the seller says it is.

It's not that I haven't ordered shipped eggs. I have. I received 2 doz from Ohio. These were Japanese Bantams. They have a 50% loss because of the lethal gene (2 short legged birds bred together & the chick gets a double dose of the short leg gene which is lethal) Of the 2 doz, 2 were broken, I hatched 12. One of which I am currently using as my avatar. I had 1 doz shipped from Calif. (I lived in Nevada) All 12 hatched, but I had 1 doz shipped from Florida. These were from a person who had Show quality Black Cochin Bantams & was well known on the show circuit (large national poultry shows). There were purchased by a friend as payment for me hatching eggs for him. They were supposed to be Black Cochin Bantams. I got 2 Blacks 2 Whites & the rest were anybody's guess (cross bred birds that even I couldn't determine what breeds they were.

I know of Bob Blosl (I thought it was Blosi) he & I have been on the same forums. He is a person I would order eggs from, but even he admits that hatching eggs is really not the best way to get birds you want. He spent most of a year trying different ways of packing & shipping trying his best to make sure people got good eggs with good hatches OH, BTW, he's got some excellent RIRs

 

[ozexpat]

The only way to get really good quality birds where I live is to get hatching eggs - and yes, I think there are plenty of eggs out there worth more than $12. Guess everyone has an opinion, though.

You might want to read through Sally Sunshine's hatching guide, it has lots of very helpful information for all hatchers new and old,including Shipped Eggs instructions. Good luck and don't get discouraged, shipped eggs are always a gamble, but I have hatched out some truly special birds that way.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/hatching-eggs-101

I concur with the above post.

Sally's article is simple to understand and very informative.

I personally would practice on local 5 bucks a dozen eggs - even mutt eggs from the nearest crazy chicken lady.

Then when you buy some shipped eggs - hatch some more mutts along side them - then you have a control group that has predictability.

As far as egg value - study the market. Legbars are all the rage now and are getting 5-10 bucks an egg. Brittish orps even more.

I want to build a good flock of heritage birds. I dont mind paying 20 bucks a dozen from Frank Reece or Dick Horstman for heritage lines of Jersey Giants, Barred Rocks or Rose Comb Rhode Island Reds. I would rather pay a few more dollars a dozen to know that I am getting eggs from someone who has a passion about chickens and is likely to pack them well and not ship inferts.

At 20 bucks plus shipping and with a 50% hatch rate you got 5 quality hens, a great rooster, a spare roo and 3 eating cockerels for 3.50 a bird. Now you just need to get to a 50% hatch rate.

Read Sally's article

 

[yinepu]

shipped eggs..

4 emu eggs all four are alive and well..

another batch of 4.. lost in the mail for several days.. 1 arrived broken.. 1 arrived chipped.. i will be shocked if any hatch

9 red dorking eggs.. 1 clear.. the other 8 alive and well

the list can go on and on

It just depends on how much rough handling they received during transit.. no matter how good your incubation skills are I have never yet met anyone who could hatch out a scrambled egg



Having said that.. i normally get an average hatch rate of 80 to 85% on shipped eggs.. even eggs with damaged and bubbly air cells..

As a note: the hatches where I have had lower hatch rates have all been on eggs that have gotten lost in the mail or have had broken eggs in the shipping box.

 

[ClintD]

Sarge, 20% isn't bad. That's about my average w shipped eggs. Some batches have been zero and my best luck was 5/6 eggs. One thing to look at is the sellers location compared to yours (how far do they have to travel?). Another is the weather. Extreme temps will surely have an effect. I let mine rest too for 12-24 hrs. Yes, it is a gamble. Who knows how many times a package gets dropped or when so and so dip@&$? Reads " fragile, eggs!" If they'll be carefully or shake the box. Good luck.

 

[living dead dol]

when its time for my shipped eggs to hatch i keep them in the racks fat end up becuse the air cell never do well in shipping..this way the air stays at the top and less die from lack of air...it works for me. i have been hatching 9 years now.. i just take racks off the turner and set them in my hatcher

 

[Jack-Girl]

I just received my first batch of shipped eggs! A Heritage breed...Last summer I paid heavily for 6 Spangled Orpington chicks...1 hen, 5 Roos! After rehoming 4 Roos, I thought it would be fun to let my Brooding hen give it a try...The chicks are due on Easter Sunday! Fingers crossed.

 

[mmccubbins30]

Cream legbars are woth more then 12.00 a dozen

 

[rottlady]

I guess I should not tell anyone what I just spent on eggs (certainly not my husband)
I have 12 Barnevelder eggs that caught a ride for their 6.5 hr trip so were handled about as well as eggs in a car can be. They are in incubator now

12 Delaware eggs sitting at PO right now waiting for me to come get them in am- they shipped out Monday in bitter cold
4 Crested Cream Legbar eggs will arrive at PO in am they have been in transit since Monday also but farther distance also in bitter cold

Fingers crossed because I don't have the money to lose

 

[lawson1986]

I guess I should not tell anyone what I just spent on eggs (certainly not my husband)
I have 12 Barnevelder eggs that caught a ride for their 6.5 hr trip so were handled about as well as eggs in a car can be. They are in incubator now

12 Delaware eggs sitting at PO right now waiting for me to come get them in am- they shipped out Monday in bitter cold
4 Crested Cream Legbar eggs will arrive at PO in am they have been in transit since Monday also but farther distance also in bitter cold

Fingers crossed because I don't have the money to lose

Sounds very much like me...and I don't tell my hubby how much I spend either...He would freak! And I paid way more than 12$ for a dozen....