Tips on Shipped eggs

[ltrentin]

We also are hatching shipped eggs. We let them rest for 24 hours. We did not candle them before placing in incubator. It is a vertical incubator with automatic turning. We placed them in last night. Just to confirm the humidity - is it still recommended 50-60% (that is what the incubator model information stated but did not differentiate between shipped or non shipped eggs.

 

[oregonkat]

We also are hatching shipped eggs. We let them rest for 24 hours. We did not candle them before placing in incubator. It is a vertical incubator with automatic turning. We placed them in last night. Just to confirm the humidity - is it still recommended 50-60% (that is what the incubator model information stated but did not differentiate between shipped or non shipped eggs.

It is essential that you get and calibrate an independent hygrometer and thermometer to monitor your humidity and temp. Depending on what incubator you have, the less expensive styrofoam bators are notoriously wrong especially when it comes to humidity. (My Hovabator is good on temp, and about 20 points too low on humidity!!!) I incubate my eggs, shipped or not, between 30 and 40% until lockdown and have had good success with this range. This is only MY experience though I know opinions on this vary greatly but I have found that shipped eggs do better at a slightly lower humidity. The air cells will tell you if you are on the right track. Trust that. Good luck with your hatch.

 

[jdublu]

It is essential that you get and calibrate an independent hygrometer and thermometer to monitor your humidity and temp. Depending on what incubator you have, the less expensive styrofoam bators are notoriously wrong especially when it comes to humidity. (My Hovabator is good on temp, and about 20 points too low on humidity!!!) I incubate my eggs, shipped or not, between 30 and 40% until lockdown and have had good success with this range. This is only MY experience though I know opinions on this vary greatly but I have found that shipped eggs do better at a slightly lower humidity. The air cells will tell you if you are on the right track. Trust that. Good luck with your hatch.

Can you recommend what hygrometer you use? I have an independent thermometer, so temp seems fine. Thanks!

 

[oregonkat]

I got mine from Amazon and there are many available. Just make sure you can independently calibrate the hygrometer to check for accuracy. It's an easy test to do.

 

[intownlimits]

I got mine from Amazon and there are many available. Just make sure you can independently calibrate the hygrometer to check for accuracy. It's an easy test to do.

I got a cheap $4 one off amazon and testing it now. Should find out how off it is this evening. Whats an acceptable +/- range for it if its off?

 

[oregonkat]

If you are doing the salt test, (and this is the only test I know of to check accuracy, pretty simple, if you dont know it, it's easy enough to find on the net) you want it to register as close to 75% as possible. Yours may read 72 or 76 or something but then you know that your reading for your incubator is off by 'x' points. Make sense? So if your tested hygrometer reads 72% in the test, for example, you will know that if it reads 35% in your incubator, the humidity is actually 38%.

 

[pnelms]

Most of the chicken expert books I've read are clear that a 50% hatch rate on shipped eggs is about right. So basically you can double the cost of any eggs you buy that are shipped. If you are buying on a site such as ebay, or from direct sellers of hatching eggs, you will find that the folks who sell you eggs generally take no responsibility for the eggs once they deliver them to the post office. All of the risk is shifted to the buyer even though the buyer has no more control over the post office than the seller. The post office is consistently blamed for low hatch rates. Instead of "the computer did it," you get "the post office did it."

Additionally, many sellers of hatching eggs say they are "fertile." However, they cannot reliably tell you the eggs are actually fertile at the age of the eggs when shipped--assuming they are actually freshly laid. They are going by the fertility rate they experience on their farm in general, and they post a few testimonies from folks who amazingly got very high hatch rates. I've never seen any postings related to low hatch rates on the ads or average hatch rates for their shipped eggs. And if you contact them about a low hatch rate, they remind you they are not responsible for anything. And how do you prove the eggs were not fertile when shipped? Good luck on that one.

So far in my experience, I've had the following results:

Hatch 1: 10 eggs, 4 hatched (40% hatch rate)
Hatch 2: 16 eggs, 7 hatched (44%)
Hatch 3: 16 eggs, 8 hatched (50%)
Hatch 4: 4 eggs, none hatched (-0-%)
Hatch 5: 15 eggs, 10 hatched (67%)

All of the hatches were done in the same Brinsea incubators--Minis and Maxi. Based on the last hatch, maybe the incubators are getting better.....

Hatch 3 and 5 were from the same seller. I think the higher hatch rates for these two batches could have been due in part to better packing by the seller. Eggs were individually wrapped around the circumferance with small cell bubble wrap, leaving the top and bottom open so the eggs could breathe. And then the eggs were packed pointy end down in a thick cocoon of shredded paper top, bottom, and sides. I have had lower hatch rates for eggs packed and shipped in conventional egg cartons and eggs shipped on their sides rather than pointy end down. Some sellers think shipping eggs on their sides is closer to "nature." but I have had more air sacs end up in the wrong place when shipped this way. Others may have had a different experience with these packing methods, but that's mine. My experience is 5 batches of shipped eggs; but I am an auditor who is always looking for condition, criteria, cause, and effect for everything.

Prior to venturing into the purchase of hatching eggs (because my hens were older and I had lost my roo) I had a nearly 100% hatch rate from my girls. So maybe I'm expecting too much. Also, my 5 surviving hens from my elderly, prior flock are a minimum of 7 years old and are still producing 1 to 3 eggs a day. So maybe I will need to adjust my laying expectations too...

Bottom line: If you buy shipped eggs, be prepared to accept the risks as the risks are all yours. And factor the low hatch rates into what you think is your cost per egg.

Priscilla

 

[K0k0shka]

The key thing with shipped eggs is if the seller sends extras. A lot of them do, recognizing that there will be damage and loss due to shipping. I’m doing my first hatch right now with shipped eggs. I paid for 12 and have 11 chicks so far (waiting on a few more eggs). But that’s because even though I bought 12, they sent me 22, just in case. So I’m pretty much getting what I paid for, and I’m very happy. I would buy from those breeders again (Papa’s Poultry in CA and Blue House Farm in NC).

 

[oregonkat]

I think it also helps to buy from sellers who are no more than a state or two away from your own. Folks will argue about this but from my experience, and Papa's Poultry have been great for me, I got the best hatch rates from sellers either in California or Washington.

 

[Kiki]

We also are hatching shipped eggs. We let them rest for 24 hours. We did not candle them before placing in incubator. It is a vertical incubator with automatic turning. We placed them in last night. Just to confirm the humidity - is it still recommended 50-60% (that is what the incubator model information stated but did not differentiate between shipped or non shipped eggs.

I'm digging through your posts to se if I can figure things out.

This is the problem.
Well one big one...IMO.


The humidity was too high and if your humidity gauge was not salt tested is actually could have been higher than this.