So I hear it all the time. "Shipped eggs have bad hatch rates"....
I know a guy who incubates pretty regularly and he has never bought shipped eggs and reccomends against it. You find mixed results when searching this website. It seems most people here tend to agree that hatching shipped eggs is an uphill battle that usually ends up with poor results.
Well I guess I must have beat the odds, 5 times in a row???
I'm brand new to incubating and as of today I just completed my 5th hatch ever. I did plenty of research (on here) before attempting my first hatch. I waited until I found a deal on a reputable incubator instead of going out and buying a mediocre one. I read up on all of the "best practices" and I used multiple devices to verify the temp/humidity. All the eggs I've hatched so far were shipped from Ohio, Georgia, and Louisiana to Alabama.
I personally think the typical reported bad hatch rates on shipped eggs are due to "operator error" or "faulty" equipment more than the shipped eggs themselves. Maybe shipped eggs have less room for error but I believe with a properly tuned incubator and good practices anyone can get good hatch rates with shipped eggs...
I would like to share my process and results of hatching Coturnix Quail.
Here's my setup and what I do: I have a very old GQF 1266 cabinet incubator. I have 4 thermometers and 3 hygrometers. I also have a GQF water reserve system. I candle the eggs when received to check for obvious cracks. I have never let the eggs "rest" for more than 3 hours. I set the eggs and they turn automatically for the first 14 days. I run my incubator between 99.1 and 100.3 degrees F. I keep the humidity between 45 and 55% (typically right around 50) for the first 14 days. During lockdown I raise the humidity to 65-72%.
Once I set the eggs I do not open the incubator until day 14. I candle the eggs and remove any clear (infertile) ones. I stop the turners and remove the eggs from the trays. I lay them on their side and add a humidity pad to the water pan. I close the incubator and I do not open it until I have at least half of my chicks hatch. I typically only open the incubator once or twice (very quickly) during hatching to remove the quail.
Here are the results of my hatches:
Hatch #1 (first ever): Ordered 50 Jumbo Pharaoh eggs from Orchard Hill Poultry. Received 52 eggs with 2 cracked. Set 50 eggs. At lockdown I had 36 eggs (removed 14 clear, infertile ones). I hatched out 31 quail. 62% hatch rate, 86% on fertile eggs.
Hatch #2: Ordered 50 Italian eggs from Myshire Farm. Received 60 eggs with 1 cracked. Set 59 eggs. At lockdown I had 50 eggs. I hatched out 50 quail. 85% hatch rate, 100% on fertile eggs.
Hatch #3: Ordered 50 Jumbo Pharaoh eggs from James Marie Farm. Received 60 eggs. Set 60 eggs. At lockdown I had 41 eggs. I hatched out 37 quail. 74% hatch rate, 90% on fertile eggs.
Hatch #4: Ordered 100 Jumbo Pharaoh eggs from Orchard Hill Poultry. Received 106 eggs with 1 cracked. Set 105 eggs. At lockdown I had 93 eggs. I hatched out 86 quail. 82% hatch rate, 92% on fertile eggs.
Hatch #5: Ordered 50 eggs from James Marie Farm. Received 54 eggs 1 cracked. Set 53 eggs. at lockdown I had 41 eggs. I hatched out 39 quail. 74% hatch rate, 95% on fertile eggs.
#3, 4, and 5 were staggered hatches and conditions were not ideal. #3 hatched Fri/Sat, #4 Sat/Sun, and #5 was Mon/Tues. I had to open the incubator several times during lockdown and I think this resulted in some of my quail getting "shrink wrapped" in the shell. I will not be doing staggered hatches that close to each other again.
Well I don't know about ya'll but I was very pleased with those hatch rates. Over 5 hatches I averaged a 74% hatch rate on the total eggs set and a 93% hatch rate on fertile eggs. I'm looking forward to hatching some of my very own eggs in the coming weeks.
Hopefully this encourages someone who was skeptical of buying shipped eggs to order some and give them a try...
I know a guy who incubates pretty regularly and he has never bought shipped eggs and reccomends against it. You find mixed results when searching this website. It seems most people here tend to agree that hatching shipped eggs is an uphill battle that usually ends up with poor results.
Well I guess I must have beat the odds, 5 times in a row???
I'm brand new to incubating and as of today I just completed my 5th hatch ever. I did plenty of research (on here) before attempting my first hatch. I waited until I found a deal on a reputable incubator instead of going out and buying a mediocre one. I read up on all of the "best practices" and I used multiple devices to verify the temp/humidity. All the eggs I've hatched so far were shipped from Ohio, Georgia, and Louisiana to Alabama.
I personally think the typical reported bad hatch rates on shipped eggs are due to "operator error" or "faulty" equipment more than the shipped eggs themselves. Maybe shipped eggs have less room for error but I believe with a properly tuned incubator and good practices anyone can get good hatch rates with shipped eggs...
I would like to share my process and results of hatching Coturnix Quail.
Here's my setup and what I do: I have a very old GQF 1266 cabinet incubator. I have 4 thermometers and 3 hygrometers. I also have a GQF water reserve system. I candle the eggs when received to check for obvious cracks. I have never let the eggs "rest" for more than 3 hours. I set the eggs and they turn automatically for the first 14 days. I run my incubator between 99.1 and 100.3 degrees F. I keep the humidity between 45 and 55% (typically right around 50) for the first 14 days. During lockdown I raise the humidity to 65-72%.
Once I set the eggs I do not open the incubator until day 14. I candle the eggs and remove any clear (infertile) ones. I stop the turners and remove the eggs from the trays. I lay them on their side and add a humidity pad to the water pan. I close the incubator and I do not open it until I have at least half of my chicks hatch. I typically only open the incubator once or twice (very quickly) during hatching to remove the quail.
Here are the results of my hatches:
Hatch #1 (first ever): Ordered 50 Jumbo Pharaoh eggs from Orchard Hill Poultry. Received 52 eggs with 2 cracked. Set 50 eggs. At lockdown I had 36 eggs (removed 14 clear, infertile ones). I hatched out 31 quail. 62% hatch rate, 86% on fertile eggs.
Hatch #2: Ordered 50 Italian eggs from Myshire Farm. Received 60 eggs with 1 cracked. Set 59 eggs. At lockdown I had 50 eggs. I hatched out 50 quail. 85% hatch rate, 100% on fertile eggs.
Hatch #3: Ordered 50 Jumbo Pharaoh eggs from James Marie Farm. Received 60 eggs. Set 60 eggs. At lockdown I had 41 eggs. I hatched out 37 quail. 74% hatch rate, 90% on fertile eggs.
Hatch #4: Ordered 100 Jumbo Pharaoh eggs from Orchard Hill Poultry. Received 106 eggs with 1 cracked. Set 105 eggs. At lockdown I had 93 eggs. I hatched out 86 quail. 82% hatch rate, 92% on fertile eggs.
Hatch #5: Ordered 50 eggs from James Marie Farm. Received 54 eggs 1 cracked. Set 53 eggs. at lockdown I had 41 eggs. I hatched out 39 quail. 74% hatch rate, 95% on fertile eggs.
#3, 4, and 5 were staggered hatches and conditions were not ideal. #3 hatched Fri/Sat, #4 Sat/Sun, and #5 was Mon/Tues. I had to open the incubator several times during lockdown and I think this resulted in some of my quail getting "shrink wrapped" in the shell. I will not be doing staggered hatches that close to each other again.
Well I don't know about ya'll but I was very pleased with those hatch rates. Over 5 hatches I averaged a 74% hatch rate on the total eggs set and a 93% hatch rate on fertile eggs. I'm looking forward to hatching some of my very own eggs in the coming weeks.
Hopefully this encourages someone who was skeptical of buying shipped eggs to order some and give them a try...
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. I had actually added to what you quoted me saying before I saw your post to include "faulty equipment" (inaccurate thermometers/hygrometers) as one of the primary reasons why I think that the hatch rates tend to be very low.
just kidding
