USPS sent my hatching eggs to Alaska

[cmom]

Some years ago I had 15 eggs shipped to me and the box arrived in great condition but only 3 eggs hatched. Shipped eggs are a gamble no matter how carefully they are packed. This is how I pack my eggs.

 

[FoodFreedomNow]

Agree that there's just no way to know how shipped eggs are handled...but proper packing certainly helps minimize shipping damage. I had a recent good hatch with shipped eggs, and here's how they were packed (individually wrapped in bubble wrap with extra cushioning at margins and double boxed with cushion between boxes):


They were marked "live embryos", "fragile", "no x-ray", too. They arrived without any visible damage...and 22 days later, .

Also had some eggs from a different source that arrived in a box that looked like this, despite being marked "fragile", "hatching eggs", and coming from a relatively short distance away:


Thanks, USPS! (no visible damage to the eggs in that corner due to bubble wrap protection, but it's not at all what you want to see with hatching eggs and made me wonder WTH they had done to crush the box like that)

 

[getaclue]

Hey there cmom. I haven't been on the Florida thread in awhile, so I haven't seen you. Nice to run into you on here.

Awhile back, I ordered some expensive eggs from a breeder. They were packed extremely well in a good egg shipper, and the box was well marked. The box didn't look too bad, but when I opened it, one egg had recently broken. I candled, and they looked pretty scrambled. I set them up, and waited 12 hours, the popped them in the incubator. I don't think any of them developed past day 3. The air cells never recovered. A couple weeks later, my daughter went on ebay, and found some eggs for $10.00 a dozen. Just for the heck of it, she ordered them, but had them sent to her house. She brought them to me when they arrived. They were sitting in a paper egg carton, with shredded paper as packing material. They were all intact, and looked good. I popped them in the incubator, and got 10 out of 12 eggs.

We discussed that because she lives in the city, the eggs go from the airport, and the ride from then on is pretty slow, smooth, and gentle. Out here in the country, the driveways are long, rough, bumpy, and some with lots of potholes. The postal people fly down these drives, sometimes going airborn, then coming down with a hard thump. Consider that the postal lady may have done this down 300 driveways before she got to my place, and that accounts for them being so scrambled. From now on, I'll always have them shipped to her, and go get them from her place, or let her bring them to me.

 

[UThobbyfarmer]

Hey there cmom. I haven't been on the Florida thread in awhile, so I haven't seen you. Nice to run into you on here.

Awhile back, I ordered some expensive eggs from a breeder. They were packed extremely well in a good egg shipper, and the box was well marked. The box didn't look too bad, but when I opened it, one egg had recently broken. I candled, and they looked pretty scrambled. I set them up, and waited 12 hours, the popped them in the incubator. I don't think any of them developed past day 3. The air cells never recovered. A couple weeks later, my daughter went on ebay, and found some eggs for $10.00 a dozen. Just for the heck of it, she ordered them, but had them sent to her house. She brought them to me when they arrived. They were sitting in a paper egg carton, with shredded paper as packing material. They were all intact, and looked good. I popped them in the incubator, and got 10 out of 12 eggs.

We discussed that because she lives in the city, the eggs go from the airport, and the ride from then on is pretty slow, smooth, and gentle. Out here in the country, the driveways are long, rough, bumpy, and some with lots of potholes. The postal people fly down these drives, sometimes going airborn, then coming down with a hard thump. Consider that the postal lady may have done this down 300 driveways before she got to my place, and that accounts for them being so scrambled. From now on, I'll always have them shipped to her, and go get them from her place, or let her bring them to me.

It makes sense that the drive would take a toll. You can also request a package be held at the post office. They give you a call to pick them up. Just like live chicks.

 

[Ms Biddy]

It makes sense that the drive would take a toll. You can also request a package be held at the post office. They give you a call to pick them up. Just like live chicks.

We have bumpy country roads as well and I always request eggs to be held at the PO for pickup. Most sellers are happy to request this for you.