USPS, Shipping eggs & poor results...what's your experience?

[wuwu77]

The last two years I have ordered hatching eggs from many different breeders and have experienced very poor results with these eggs. Granted, some of the eggs could have been infertile to begin with. But because I am getting some results, I am now convinced eggs shipped by mail are mostly not viable. I use the same incubators & techniques that I routinely get over 90% hatch rate with my own eggs and have troubleshot by incubating my own eggs at the same time, same incubator. I have received eggs mostly through Priority Mail (two day transit here). I'm curious to know other people's experiences.

 

[speckledhen]

I have had great hatches with shipped eggs (over 90%) and one or two not so great, but still acceptable. So many factors go into it, from the health of the parent stock, the shell quality, the seller's packing job, the P.O.'s handling of the package, the temps the eggs are exposed to enroute, etc, etc. I have also sent eggs and the buyers have had the same experiences with the ones I shipped.

 

[Katy]

My experiances with shipped eggs vary from 0 out of 18 to 11 out of 13. Right now I've got some in the incubator. There were 17 of them to begin with. When I candled the other night and I pulled one clear and one blood ring, but the other 15 are growing well. Time will tell how many hatch, but I'm looking forward to a good hatch from them.

 

[eggybritches]

I got a shipment of 7 duck eggs via USPS and all but one have started incubating just fine. The one that didn't work had developed a blood spot, and I'm not sure if that's because of shipping or just a bad egg.

 

[Elite Silkies]

I got 28 total shipped and I think maybe 10 or so are developing. I think it's the post office.

 

[Nana2KJS]

We can only do so much with the volumes we have to work with. I guarantee you that if the package is obviously live goods (ie: noted on the outside of the package AND well packed) we do our utmost to take care of it at every stop.

You have to consider the weather at both ends, extremes both hot and cold that the package has to go through, the distance the eggs are traveling .. and on and on.

The post office gets more than our share of bad raps, some deserved, most not. But quite honestly, eggs were not ever meant to be mailed .... you're lucky you get them at all!

USPS employee and proud of it!

 

[neferset]

I pretty much think it's weather and distance, too. I don't think fragile packages that are noted as such are that poorly handled.

I've had the best luck so far with eggs coming from in state or one state away. Now that it's cooler, I'd like to try a little further, but the catch to that is I'll probably shut down the incubators in a month or so, depending on what I have going and when it's hatching.

It actually surprised the heck out of me that I got anything at all.

 

[Chickenaddict]

I have had some great hatches from shipped eggs and I have had some bad. It's a chance we take, I don't think anyone is at fault it's just like gambling. Weather,distance,packing ect ect sooo many things to take into consideration.

 

[lurky]

I ordered eggs from Washington State shipped to Mass and hatched 8 of 12.
I was pleased with that.

 

[farrier!]

With the ones I have received it has poor hatching has been due to infertile eggs and/or poor packing. Distance traveled has had noting to do with it.