Why can't I get my shipped chicken eggs to hatch?!?!

[Mrs MIA]

Still the one-chick-wonder... just call me OCW. I have one beautiful beautiful beautiful blue orpington (thank you Cyn!!!

) in my brooder, but I'm not seeing any pipping or movement out of the 2nd egg that went into the hatcher. Set at the same time were 15 red dorking eggs... 6 went into the hatcher... nothing yet...

I have one more set of eggs that I set tonight... 14 eggs from Korfus Kluckers, and 3 from my Millie girls to test fertility. I'm not using my still-air LG with the auto turner this time... I'm using my homemade chic-o-bator, and I'm hand turning. See if it's something to do with the 'bator. After this, I'm done trying to hatch shipped eggs unless someone can tell me what's going on. I incubate my own eggs alongside the shipped eggs, and they hatch, so it has to be the shipping. How do y'all get 75% hatch rates from shipped eggs???

I'd be happy with 25-50%!!!

 

[MissPrissy]

I can't even begin to tell you how many failed hatches I have had with shipped eggs - especially the orpingtons. From last summer through late last fall every single batch of eggs I got failed. Back in March I had a set of black orp eggs. Every egg developed to day 18 at least and not 1 hatch. Don't give up. Nothing worth having comes easy.

 

[2manyhats]

I am so glad you all posted this thread. I am a new hatcher and had a bad first hatch, but chalked it up to inexperience. Had a batch of 14 EE's shipped and arrived in a damaged box, but all eggs seemed to be intact. Not one hatched. I have blue orps due to hatch in one week and now I know that they are tough to hatch. Ugh! I have some local cuckoo marans and some shipped buckeyes due in 11 days. Turkeys (blue slate, penciled palms, royal palms) due in 10 days. I was so frustrated that I was going to give up after these hatches. It helps to know that even the experienced hatchers have a tough time with shipped eggs. I'll keep at it now. I have always done so well with shipped chicks. My DH sayss, "now if only we could hatch as well as we grow em". Thanks again for being willing to share the failure as well as the triumphs. I needed to know that I'm not alone.

Kimberly

 

[Mom 2em All]

Of 24 polish and hudans, I am down to five eggs on Day 13. I had one shipment from the hatchery that was full of broken eggs- and only got one chick out of the bunch. Their replacement eggs, I only got three.

I had quite a few great shipments also, average of 50 percent hatched, some a little higher.

Shipped eggs are a constant guessing game. I just ordered nine serama eggs. My last batch I only got one chick, and it died after a few days. Well, I just received an email from the seller that she mailed them out today!!!! Its Friday- that means a weekend of sitting in the post office somewhere-perhaps on a truck in the sun.

 

[Solsken Farm]

Tori. I just found this thread! Oh boy, I am hoping for you that the second Blue Orp makes it. Or that your one successful Orp is a hen and there is such a thing as immaculate conception.

You must be so frustrated. I really commend your tenacity. I am going to research this a bit more. I googled the subject and didn't find much, but heck, people must import eggs from abroad and air would have to be the way to go.

I wonder if you have a broody hen and could try a few under her? Nature seems to be so much better at this stuff in so many instances......

 

[Zookeeper9000]

Just a note on the PO those trucks move all the time. They drive weekends too. Hang in there.

Sorry Tori I was really hoping this time the shipped eggs would work for you. Hang in there girl.

 

[speckledhen]

Did it pip, Tori?

 

[CindyS]

I have had some with air cells like that, and they can and do hatch. When you have some like that, mark the shells so you know there may be a problem. When the air cell looks like that it means the membrane is detatched from the shell in those spots and hugging the chick. Raising the humidity will not usually help, because the membrane will not re attach itself to the shell. The problem is the chick may not be able to rotate. This is one of those times where you might need to help.

 

[Mrs MIA]

Still no pips this morning... thank you all...

I know I'm not the only one, but after 8 shipments of at least a dozen eggs, I have only been able to get 4 to hatch, no matter how many go in the hatcher. They make it to day 17/18, then give up. Those odds are too high for me to continue that route. I will likely order chicks in the spring and start from the ground up on the last two breeds I want.
The positive side to all of this is that I know the chicks that I do have are tougher than nails... they have to be to have survived this long.

Cynthia ~ I'm hoping my little blue is a girl, and her name will be Sapphire. She's still not completely fuzzed out, but I took some photos this morning... I'll post them soon.

I will continue to try hatching the blues, because I don't think there are any others here in the state, so I have no choice but to try to hatch my own.

 

[speckledhen]

Love the name! It's one I had picked out for one of my future blue girls. Great minds and all that....Do you ever help the chicks out? I've been guilty of it when it's a valuable chick like my Blue Orps and I was desperate.