What Happened? Infertile or Could Something in Shipping or Weather Cause This (pics)

[haTHOR]

This is one of three that showed some development.

9 others looked this this

Shipped eggs. Customer reported 9/12 looked like this.

So odd to me because 1) I've shipped a lot and my hatch rates have always been good
2) I put same variety of eggs in bator and 100%, no kidding, are viable and ready for lockdown.

Eggs were kept in 55 degree pantry and turned three times a day before sending; none were more than 1 wk old.

Could freezing on the way Or ANYTHING in shipping stop development and look like this? Or could there really be that big a discrepancy in fertility in just a few days?

 

[sumi]

It could well be due to the cold weather you guys are experiencing at the moment. Extreme cold is much harder on hatching eggs than heat, though neither is ideal… This article breaks down most of the common causes of incubation and hatch failures and may shed some light on this:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/egg-failure-to-hatch-diagnosing-incubation-problems

 

[haTHOR]

Thank you. I had seen that article before, but not lately, and I appreciate you linking me to it. I guess the question now is, is there any way to know whether the egg she received were in fertile when she received them or whether I shipped fertile eggs and they were somehow damaged by cold or handling during the shipping process?

 

[sumi]

Judging from the pics you posted I'd say they got compromised during shipping. Probably by rough handling, unless she broke the yolks when she opened the eggs? Freezing can cause some damage too though I'm not sure to what extend. I've only experimented with eggs for eating and I defrosted them slowly.

 

[haTHOR]

Sumi thank you for your input on this. I am tying to figure out as an ethical seller what to do so the feedback is valuable to me as I consider options.

I should have mentioned she did not candle at all and these were cracked oPen on day 24 or so. Perhaps that is why the yolks look that way.

So there really is no way to tell if they were infertile. I think I will refund half her money since this is such a gray area.

 

[lazy gardener]

sticking my nose in here... Did the buyer have previous hatching experience with the incubator she used for this hatch?

 

[sumi]

Good question, Lazy Gardener.

haTHOR, you're welcome. I wish I could help more, but this is a VERY grey one and it's hard to tell without examining the eggs. It's impossible to check the germinal disk now, it will be too damaged and after that heat for so long… I think you have the best idea, refunding her partially. I wish she did candle them to check for air cell damage etc. That could've given you a clue.

 

[CrazyTalk]

Could freezing on the way Or ANYTHING in shipping stop development and look like this? Or could there really be that big a discrepancy in fertility in just a few days?

Shipping eggs are always a gamble. Figure they're dealing with anything from huge temperature swings, to huge pressure swings, to significant physical movement/agitation/vibration, etc. There's a lot of things that can and do go wrong.

Typically they're sold as pretty much "you're on your own," but if you want to go the extra mile and refund the person, that's not a bad decision. Just keep an eye on the rate at which you're losing things in shipping and make sure it's still worth the time/effort/etc.