What temp does an egg freeze?

[countyroad1330]

I was wondering, does anyone know at what temperature an egg freezes? After its been in that temperature is it no good to eat? And, if it is fertile, could it still be incubated? (All questions assuming the egg was laid that day.)

 

[Wildsky]

I'm curious too.....
I've often gone out to find an egg - very cold to the touch, but still its been eaten! My bantams seem to lay sometime in the afternoon - and I'm not one to be pacing up and down in the snow waiting for the egg........ so I generally find the egg at 5pm when I'm doing my evening rounds.

 

[countyroad1330]

Someone had said 32*, same as water. But an egg is not the same consistancy as water, and it has that lovely little shell.

 

[Wildsky]

It would also be HOW LONG in that temp.....

We've had plenty of days the past few weeks that haven't gone above freezing, and I'm guessing my little eggs have been out there for at least two hours.

 

[brooster]

They should be able to be incubated if they dont freeze. I did an experment this summer. I put a dozen eggs in the fridge for 24 hours then incubated them i got a 75% hatch rate. But first you have to let them get up to room temp slowly or they will sweat when you throw them in the bator.

 

[brooster]

Storeys guide says that eggs break at 28 or below so i would guess that they freeze at 28 degrees.

 

[Wildsky]

Wow thats interesting, but I suppose in nature the mother hen wouldn't sit on just one - she'd wait till she had another or three before she started to brood.

I think it would take a while to actually FREEZE one with shell on..... I'm not gonna test that - I only get one a day as it is!

 

[countyroad1330]

Brooster, thanks for looking that up! It is sad that a hen would try to sit on 20 frozen eggs *haha* Hey Wildsky, want to ship me some of those d'Uccle eggs?

 

[kentuckysilkies]

As long as the shell has not broken a fertilized egg can still be incubated and produce a chick after having been frozen. In a comparative anatomy class I took in college we did experiments on various amphibian, reptilian and avian eggs where we manipulated external factors to see if they would still hatch. To my surprise the frozen chicken eggs hatched at a comparative rate to our control eggs.

 

[countyroad1330]

Thanks Kentucky! So, do you think its safe to order eggs right now? I want to incubate!