Buying eggs for hatching off of ebay! Do or Don't?

[Jungleexplorer]

I contact all my buyers to find out what their hatch rate is. I also request that buyers email me with their first candeling results. I used to sell on ebay and have a waiting list now so don't need to. I think it would be incredibly unfair to ask someone to wait untill the eggs hatch to leave feed back. I buy eggs off ebay and would not wait to leave feedback because the seller has no control over how I hatch the eggs.

Most people have those little styrofoam incubators that have temp and humidity spikes like crazy. I know because I have four of them and hatched out of them for 5 years. They have to be watched like a naughty toddler at a backyard pool. I now hatch with a cabinet incubator and a cabinet hatcher, I cannot believe the hatching improvement I now see.

I have to say I think most of your comments are valid. Ebay offers sellers anonymity which allows them to ship old eggs, package badly, or plain just not care. Also because you can only leave feedback when the eggs arrive, you are only commenting on their packaging job. Also if you leave a comment, posted in the question section of their ad and say something like don't buy from these people their eggs never developed, the seller has the option of not posting your comment to their ad so no one sees it anyway.

So basically the feedback on ebay is unfair if the seller didn't do their job properly, and the feedback if given later could be unfair if the buyer didn't do their job properly.

Lanae

You have offered a very balanced view of the ebay situation when it comes to hatching eggs. I think if I were to sell eggs on ebay, would provide a hatching guide and offer a 50% hatch rate guaranty if the buyer followed the guide. The cost of replacing eggs is m[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]inuscule[/FONT] to the seller aside from shipping fees which could be charged to the seller. I have owned and operated multiple businesses and have always operated under the philosophy that it is better to lose money to keep a customer happy then to stand your ground and be right, and then make and enemy that will bad mouth you all around town. You can be right all day long and still get a bad reputation.

I am glad that you follow up with your buyers. None of the seven sellers I bought from followed up with me. One of the sellers that had a zero hatch rate asked me to send him pictures of the eggs at day 14, after I emailed him of course. So I posted pictures to my web album of his eggs ( https://picasaweb.google.com/118274...don14DayCandling?authkey=Gv1sRgCNvdwqvU2pazXw). I thought he wanted to see them because he was actually think of doing something for me. Nope! He just wanted me to go through all the hassle of taking pictures and posting them so he could tell me, tough luck dude.

Of course, sellers cannot be held responsible for how well a buyer incubates eggs. But if, like my case, I can prove that I did everything right, and I did baby sit the eggs to the point my wife was threatening to divorce me for not paying any attention to her, should that not be of some value? I was using a Genesis 1588, but I created a climate controlled room (temp and humidity) for it to stay in. I monitored every aspect of the process with redundant monitoring system (multiple thermometer and hygrometers). I even set up a webcam feed on the internet so I could watch the eggs during lockdown. I actually watched one of my chicks hatch while I was 150 miles away at my brothers birthday party. We had a great time watching my "Chick Cam". I wonder how many hit I would have gotten if I would have created my own website called www.chickcam.com. LOL!

 

[gamebirdsonly]

I am sorry, but everyone of the sellers I bought from claim the same thing. They all have a 100% feedback rating because they demand that you leave feedback as soon as you get the eggs. I contacted the five sellers that had a ZERO hatch rate and they all blamed it on USPS. Being an hatching egg seller on eBay is like being a weather man, you can be wrong 100% of the time and still keep your job, because "Who can predict the weather".

Everyone of the sellers I bought from claimed "Good Hatch Rates", but five of the seven had a zero hatch rate and the 6th only had 1 out of ten. Only one of the sellers had a 50% hatch rate with 6 eggs out of 12 hatching. So you can make all the claims you want in defense of eBay hatching egg sellers, but unless you let buyers leave you feedback AFTER the eggs have hatched, there is no way for you to know what your average hatch rate is. I mean, do you contact your buyers after a month to find out what their hatch rate is? I bet you don't. So how can you make the claim that you made that people that buy your eggs off ebay have a 50 to 60% hatch rate? It is a totally unfounded claim that you have no way to back up. You only say that because you don't want people to stop buying eggs off ebay.

All I know, is I spent $300 on 60 eggs, spent two months and untold time and resources and got 7 chicks. I am very upset! I will never again buy another egg off ebay and that will be my recommendation to any who ask.

You think your hatch rate was bad I spent just $300.00 just on one breed 3 different sellers 30 eggs and not one of them developed. In just last 4 years buying from e-bay and egg trades on here and buys on here I have spent nearly $4,000.00 and I have had perfect hatches and I have had 0% hatch.

But I knew that it's a risk with shipped eggs.
So I rarely blame the seller.
The only time I been upset at seller is when the packaging is very poor and I mean eggs wrapped in tolit paper or laying lose with straw for the packing material.

 

[ReikiStar]

Shipped eggs are a gamble no matter where you buy. Win some lose lots. I love the gamble with shipped eggs they are exciting. When I get a good hatch rate on shipped eggs its like winning at the casino. I have a jackpot waiting to hatch later this week. Every single egg from Lark Rise olive eggs is growing good, if they don't hatch it's my fault.

I agree with Jenjeran. Shipped eggs = total gamble. Every aspect of buying shipped eggs is usually trusting a stranger to be truthful. Are those really pictures of their chickens? What conditions are the chickens kept in? What are they fed? What is the lineage? Are these eggs coming from a brother-sister breeding? How are the eggs stored? How old are the eggs? You ask for eggs to be marked if they are from different breeding pens but are they correctly marked? They can say anything on their page/website or in an email response, but you really have no way of knowing the truth. So much of this process is completely out of the hands of the buyer. Once you get then, then you have the condition of the eggs to contend with -- are they clean, are they broken? Are they even fertile? Were they well packed but STILL they were damaged or thrown in a blender on their way to you?

Once you unpack those babies, it's 50/50. 50% all the factors you couldn't control and now 50% how good are you at hatching eggs.

I think Ebay or any other auction site is a buyer beware type of situation. You're putting your money out there, hoping someone does right by you. There are no guarantees.

Jungleexplorer...I have no doubt you put your heart and soul into these eggs, but when you ask which end is up when using an egg turner -- that's pretty basic information that's in every hatching guide...perhaps there is still more for you to learn about hatching. Aveca shared some really good information on how to get higher hatch rates from shipped eggs. The method has even been studied by Cornell University which backs the findings of increased hatch rate in letting the eggs be still in the incubator for the first 5-10 days (depends on who you ask) and it's ALWAYS large end up. Always. Here is the most recent post: https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/641760/settling-shipped-eggs-necessary-with-auto-turner

 

[SierraView]

I've spent a lot on shipped eggs because its fun. I don't always put my money into a risky gamble with shipped eggs. I've also had birds shipped, still a risk but they have always arrived in great condition and have even arrived with a fresh laid egg in the box lol.

If I had $300 to spend next week I would contact a breeder and buy a pair. Just think about how many eggs you will get that won't be damaged from shipping.

 

[Jungleexplorer]

Quote:
I only asked this question after my first batch of 24 eggs resulted in only one chick. I already knew that it was small end down, but I was seeking alternate advice. I have raised chickens for 35 years in four countries, but I have never used artificial incubation before. I know a lot, but I am always to willing to be open minded and learn more.

I started a whole different thread about this question titled, "Does Nature Know Best". In this thread I posed the question of, if in nature the eggs lay on their side under the hen, why did someone design a turner that holds the egg up on the end? While everyone else is arguing about temp and humidity, I think we have overlooked the simple idea that nature does know best.

I will tell you this. Of the 46 eggs in my last batch, 4 were on their side and hand turned and the rest were in the automatic turner. All four of the ones that were on their side fully developed and three hatched out. Of the 42 that were in the turner, only 3 developed fully and hatch and 5 others were only partially developed. This may be an indication that placing eggs on their side in the natural position is far better then putting them on end, small end down. So there is always room to learn new things.

 

[ReikiStar]

I will tell you this. Of the 46 eggs in my last batch, 4 were on their side and hand turned and the rest were in the automatic turner. All four of the ones that were on their side fully developed and three hatched out. Of the 42 that were in the turner, only 3 developed fully and hatch and 5 others were only partially developed. This may be an indication that placing eggs on their side in the natural position is far better then putting them on end, small end down. So there is always room to learn new things.

I remember that thread. And it is a very interesting non-experiment that happened. There is no doubt an egg being up on any end is unnatural. But millions of chicks are hatched in auto-turners every year so...

. The 4 that hatched after being on their sides, were they shipped eggs as well? Do you recall the condition of their air cells? Again, going thru the mail, it's luck of the draw sometimes. I suppose the seller can do everything right, USPS can just send it through without taking their aggressions out on it and you're a hatching whiz, still doesn't mean one will get a 100% rate.

I do hope you get your flock of grey jungle fowl some day. Pictures will be required.

 

[Jungleexplorer]

I remember that thread. And it is a very interesting non-experiment that happened. There is no doubt an egg being up on any end is unnatural. But millions of chicks are hatched in auto-turners every year so...

. The 4 that hatched after being on their sides, were they shipped eggs as well? Do you recall the condition of their air cells? Again, going thru the mail, it's luck of the draw sometimes. I suppose the seller can do everything right, USPS can just send it through without taking their aggressions out on it and you're a hatching whiz, still doesn't mean one will get a 100% rate.

I do hope you get your flock of grey jungle fowl some day. Pictures will be required.

Here are some pics of my gamefowl that I have had for some time but never had a rooster to breed them with.

I got this Stag in early February, but my hens have not started to lay yet.

I traded three of my Jersey Giants for three grey hen pullets last week. But one died a few days later. These two are doing well though.

I just bought this four year old hen yesterday for $50. A little expensive, but a lot better then buying a dozen eggs off ebay for $50 and not have a single one hatch.

 

[ReikiStar]

Here are some pics of my gamefowl that I have had for some time but never had a rooster to breed them with.

I got this Stag in early February, but my hens have not started to lay yet.

I traded three of my Jersey Giants for three grey hen pullets last week. But one died a few days later. These two are doing well though.

I just bought this four year old hen yesterday for $50. A little expensive, but a lot better then buying a dozen eggs off ebay for $50 and not have a single one hatch.

Beautiful girls! Esp. love the salmon colored ones. I didn't know the jungle hens grew such serious spurs.

 

[Jungleexplorer]

Beautiful girls! Esp. love the salmon colored ones. I didn't know the jungle hens grew such serious spurs.

I love the salmon colored ones the best too. Some of them do grow spurs and some of them don't. They fight each other just like the Stags do, but they don't hurt each other. They are just establishing dominance.

 

[Jungleexplorer]

I want to come back here and do a little update to this subject now that have a lot more experience. Back in the spring I started ordering eggs off ebay to hatch. In the end I spent around $400.00 on about 60 eggs from 8 different sellers. All said and done I got 6 chicks to hatch total, 5 chicks from one seller and 1 chick from another. The large majority of the eggs showed no signs of developing and there were a few early quiters. I only had maybe three or four that died in the late stages. Now that seems pretty bad, but I must admit that I had no previous experience incubating eggs. After my failure to hatch out ebay eggs, I started incubating my own eggs for about four months. I hatched out well over 100 chicks from my own eggs and learned a lot about incubating eggs in my area. I now know that the technique (wet incubation, per the instruction that came with my Hova-Bater Genesis) I was using to hatch out the ebay eggs will not work in my area and I feel myself lucky to have hatch out the six that I did. Even though I live in a place defined as a desert, with very low humidity, the only technique that worked for me was absolute dry incubation. Using dry incubation I brought my hatch rates up to around 90% on fertile eggs.

So there is no way of knowing how many chicks I could have gotten from the ebay eggs had I used dry incubation, but I am certain I would have gotten more then six. I also believe that if I would have waited until early summer to order the eggs, I would have had better results, because there would not have been the danger of the eggs being exposed to cold temperatures during shipping. This was an expensive learning experience, but a fruitful one. I learned several things. First, I learned how to incubate eggs properly and I feel a lot more confident that I will be able to do so with a lot more success in the future. Second, I learned that in my area, I can successful hatch more eggs then my hens in my region because of the extreme temperature fluctuations and other hardships that can occur in nature that can result in a lot of dead eggs. Out of over 100 eggs I placed under ten hens, less then 20 hatched out and only six have survived of those. It is not really the hens fault though, we are in an extreme drought in in Texas and this was an extremely hot summer. Even the local wild animals are struggling under these conditions.

In the end I ended up with some very expensive birds, but they are beautiful to look at. I just have to show them off. So here they are.