Useless Shipped Eggs (: (: (:

[hallerlake]

Shipping can completely scramble eggs. I opened up some that hadn't hatched to find them looking like they were ready for an omelet pan. Even unscrambled can be addled enough to not develop. My post office is staffed by gorillas apparently. The best packed eggs have arrived useless. I'm shipping them to a friend from here on in. Her eggs arrive in much better shape.

 

[wbruder17]

I've never had eggs shipped, but all I can say is that EVERY time my mother ships something to me, no matter how well she packs it, at least one item is broken. So, hooray! For the US postal service and the care that is taken with items marked "fragile".

Ever seen Ace Ventura, Pet Detective? The very beginning where he is disguised as a package delivery man. Remember what that box looked like?

 

[Gypsy07]

Intact yolks and no development doesn't necessarily mean infertile eggs. They could have been exposed to extremes of hot or cold while in transit, as well as the usual rough handling that shipped eggs have to cope with. Both of these things would be totally out of the seller's control. If you're quite sure that your temps and humidity were where they were supposed to be, I think you should contact the seller and tell them of your experience. Not making a complaint, just informing them. For all you know they do test hatches every week and can be totally certain that their eggs have great fertility. If you come across as rude they probably won't want to help you out. But if you politely suggest you just thought they should know, in case other people have had similar experiences, etc etc, they might perhaps offer you some more eggs.

Most sellers I know of who replace undeveloped eggs always want the clear ones returned to them, to guard against unscrupulous people who hatch out chicks then pretend they didn't, and unfortunately you've cracked all your eggs open bar one. But you've got nothing to lose, so I'd still say contact the seller and let them know about your eggs.

 

[onthespot]

a percentage of packages are randomly x-rayed also. If yours was one of the unlucky ones, your eggs got zapped and will not hatch.

X2 for the post above. Fertile is not the same as viable. X-rays can render fertile eggs unviable, not to mention the Mr. Toad's Wild Ride through the automation of the USPS.

 

[blefky]

Quote:
I agree. I have 19 chicks in the brooder at the moment (actually, they're in the grow out coop with a light now) that I purchased from three different BYC breeders. One set came from northern New England and took five days to reach me - during a period of really cold weather, one set came from Maryland and arrived in two days, and the third set I picked up myself. The eggs with the best hatch rate were the ones that had the longest travel time - 14 out of 18 marans and olive eggers, those I picked up hatched 5 out of 12 sussex, and the ones from Maryland hatched 1 of 10 wheaten ameraucanas (and it's a cockerel...sigh). I believe that each of these breeders are reputable, and I know that others have had quite successful hatches from them. There just are too many influencing factors. I believe the eggs from Maryland had a really rough trip - lots of detached air cells. I would also suggest contacting the breeder. Hatching can be a wonderful experience, I wouldn't give up on it after one try. Good luck.

 

[animaladdictions]

I too have been a victim of USPS's rough handling procedures. :. I usually have pretty good luck with shipped eggs but not long ago I bought 2 dozen LF Cochin eggs off of ebay. They were packaged well and none were cracked so I let them rest and set them. About 10 days later I candled and much to my dismay found that around 15 eggs were scrambled! Most of the rest had started growing but died early (I'm pretty sure the air cells were ripped on those). In the end, out of the 26 eggs that were sent, only six made it to hatch. Those six are thriving but man what a disappointment that I couldn't have had more. On a positive note, the experience taught me to ALWAYS candle any shipped eggs I receive BEFORE setting them!

My advise is, if you like the quality of a local breeder and they have what you're looking for, make them your first choice for hatching eggs. If you must buy shipped eggs, for one- never spend more money than you're willing to lose, and two- always keep in mind the many things that can go wrong in shipping. That said, I personally will continue to take chances on shipped eggs in order to get the breeds and/or the quality I want. The disappointment when it goes wrong is HORRIBLE, but the rewarding and joyful feeling you get when it goes right is hard to beat!