where to store eggs before incubation

[chrisabney]

I have a few Araucana hens laying eggs that I wish to hatch in an incubator.
I've read that I should store them at 55-65°F, until resting, then incubating.

That is cooler than my house and warmer than the refrigerator.
How can I achieve this temperature?

 

[redinator]

I have a few Araucana hens laying eggs that I wish to hatch in an incubator.
I've read that I should store them at 55-65°F, until resting, then incubating.

That is cooler than my house and warmer than the refrigerator.
How can I achieve this temperature?

If they just started laying you might want to wait awhile, a couple months at least maybe longer, before trying to hatch chicks. I just had a very bad hatch rate with pullet eggs.

 

[SkyAJK]

Being an inexperience chicken keeper, I stored my chicken eggs in the refrigerator and took them out for my broody hen. I let them cool down first. I was thinking these eggs in the cold it will no longer fertile. I was super wrong, it hatched out a beautiful and healthy baby hen.

 

[Debbie292d]

I have a few Araucana hens laying eggs that I wish to hatch in an incubator.
I've read that I should store them at 55-65°F, until resting, then incubating.

That is cooler than my house and warmer than the refrigerator.
How can I achieve this temperature?

@redinator is right about new laying pullets don't hatch well. I'd wait too.

That said, we just store them in egg cartons, narrow side down, in the basement. I sit one side of the carton on a bag of dry rice or beans or something, then switch sides once a day. Meanwhile, I'm adding eggs to them until I have what I want to incubate. After two weeks old, the hatch rate starts suffering, so I try get this done within two weeks.

 

[Debbie292d]

Being an inexperience chicken keeper, I stored my chicken eggs in the refrigerator and took them out for my broody hen. I let them cool down first. I was thinking these eggs in the cold it will no longer fertile. I was super wrong, it hatched out a beautiful and healthy baby hen.

I have done this too in a pinch...I didn't have enough to set so just grabbed some from the fridge. Some were both from the fridge and over two weeks old, but I wound up with better than 50% hatch rate on those.

 

[chrisabney]

If they just started laying you might want to wait awhile, a couple months at least maybe longer, before trying to hatch chicks. I just had a very bad hatch rate with pullet eggs.

Thanks for that on the young hens. However, my flock is getting older and are laying fewer eggs and my rooster seems to be less "active". Araucana are harder to find and harder to hatch so I need more options than than I would with another breed.

 

[sniper338]

Speaking from experience here, no newbie....

I set up my hoovabator genesis ready to hatch eggs turner installed all ready to go. Then collect eggs, put them in the incubator in the house and turn the egg turner on. Then leave the egg turner on as you collect eggs for two weeks.. incubator warmer off... tip down in the egg turner, thats the best way to store them while collecting.

Then when you get enough eggs just turn the incubator on. Don't put a incubator in ac drafts areas more by a window in sunlight.

Eggs dont need refrigerated at all thats dumb. Egg carton lifting a side every few hours works, but doesnt keep them moving enough.

I close the incubator while they sit waiting. It acclimates to you house. In the 70s inside your home is just fine. But the best way to store is in an egg turner with it running.

100% hatches often...