Ugh - shipping date mix up!

[hfchristy]

I was really pleased to arrange for duck eggs from two different places to be shipped to me next Monday. Or so I thought.
Turns out one is going to be shipping them on Monday, but the other shipped to ARRIVE Monday, and USPS is saying they'll actually be here Saturday.
Will the eggs that arrive Saturday be okay to wait until the second set arrives? Or do I need to think about a staggered hatch, and the risks that come along with that?

 

[nchls school]

If it's a matter of four/five days, I'd store the first eggs in a cool, dry place-turning them each day until the other eggs arrive and then put all in the incubator at the same time. Hopefully the eggs were fresh when they were sent.

 

[cmfarm]

I would ask the first seller how old the eggs are that they sent and go from there.

 

[hfchristy]

The eggs that arrived first all have small air bubbles so I think they were pretty fresh, but really misshapen air cells after their trip, so having a little time to settle is good. Hopefully the others are a little less shaken.
Question: i saw somewhere that older eggs may take a day or two longer to hatch. Has that been anyone's experience? I don't want to wait to start them all together, only to have the ones that sat waiting for days end up being behind schedule! Should I give them a 1 day head start?

 

[nchls school]

The eggs that arrived first all have small air bubbles so I think they were pretty fresh, but really misshapen air cells after their trip, so having a little time to settle is good. Hopefully the others are a little less shaken.
Question: i saw somewhere that older eggs may take a day or two longer to hatch. Has that been anyone's experience? I don't want to wait to start them all together, only to have the ones that sat waiting for days end up being behind schedule! Should I give them a 1 day head start?

I've been hatching and raising birds of all kinds for fifty+ years and have never noticed older eggs taking a different amount of time to hatch than fresher eggs. The incubation time remains the same for viable eggs of any age. Temperature variations can change the incubation time somewhat, but not age of eggs.

 

[hfchristy]

Argh!
Just checked tracking and it says "arriving late".

 

[cmom]

The eggs should be ok and as you said let them rest and maybe heal somewhat. Older eggs don't take longer to hatch. It all depends on when the eggs are started to incubate. Once the eggs heat up the process has started. That is why when a broody lays her eggs daily, until she has enough to incubate and then she starts the process by of the incubation by sitting on the eggs and then they all hatch out at relatively the same time/day. If eggs are older the viability goes down after around 10 days. That is why most who hatch suggest hatching within 10 days of collecting the eggs. I did an experiment many years ago and had some eggs I let sit for over two, nearly three weeks. When I put them in the incubator quite a few didn't develop. Good luck and have fun...

 

[hfchristy]

Tracking says:
In Transit, Arriving Late
Your package will arrive later than expected, but is still on its way. It is currently in transit to the next facility.
It said this all day yesterday, too. Last time stamp was Monday night. If USPS has lost or destroyed the second set of eggs, I'd really like to know that now instead of several days from now. The freshest the eggs I have sitting here could possibly be is 6 days old, assuming the seller put them directly from the nest into the box and drove straight to the post office. More likely we're at 7 days already.
I think I'm just going to set them today. I have a bad feeling about the chances that the other ones are going to get here in one piece today, tomorrow, or ever.