Storing eggs before incubation in cold weather

[Willow Ridge Farm]

I live in a snowy climate and would like to collect some eggs to put in the incubator to hatch in mid March. If I collect the eggs at the end of the day and they have been possibly under 40F for a few hours, has that already killed the embryo? If I collect them and they haven’t been under 40F, I can put them in a cooler in the garage and, if I close the lid, this will keep them in the mid 50F. If I leave the lid cracked, they get too cold. How do people store eggs before incubation in cold climates?? Am I wasting my time if they are already dead if I collect them at the end of the day if they’ve been cold for several hours? Photo of my 5 month old Olive egger for attention.

 

[nuthatched]

There's no Embryo before about 27 hours of incubation.
People often hatch refrigerated eggs, and 40 isn't as cold as that.

 

[Prince and Pavo]

There's no Embryo before about 27 hours of incubation.
People often hatch refrigerated eggs, and 40 isn't as cold as that.

X2

I’ve hatched refrigerated eggs before, and though my hatch rate wasn’t as high, I still got three chicks out of eleven total eggs, several of which were not fertilized.

 

[Ridgerunner]

When the sperm joins with the hen's egg cell at fertilization they form a zygote. A zygote is a single cell. It starts dividing and forms an embryo. This joining can only occur in the first few minutes of the egg's journey through the hen's internal egg making factory. That total journey takes approximately 25 hours. During this journey the hen's internal heat keeps the cells dividing. There are certain byproducts formed during this process, that's why you can see a bull's eye in a fertile egg. Once it is laid the development really slows down but the embryo is still alive.

The perfect temperature to store a fertile egg until you can start incubating is around 55 degrees Fahrenheit. If the embryo gets too cold it can die. There is not a set temperature for that though freezing is not good. And it is a matter of how long it is at that temperature. I would not be that concerned if it were down to 40 F as long as you collect them daily. If you could collect them 2 or 3 times a day even better. Other things happen when they get warmer but that's not your problem.

I collect eggs for hatching when the temperature is below freezing occasionally but I collect them several times a day. I store them at room temperature, in winter around 72 F, and can keep them for at least a week with no loss of fertility. At 55 F you should be able to keep them for at least two weeks with no loss of fertility.

They will need to be turned so the yolk doesn't sink and touch the inside if the shell where it can become stuck. Some people store them in egg cartons and move a block of wood from one end to the other. I lay mine flat and put an "x" on one side and an "o" on the other so I can tell when they have been rolled over. It is considered best to turn them an odd number of times a day. As long as you turn them about the same time each day they will wind up spending about the same amount of time in each position. Some people take the automatic turner out of their incubator and store the eggs on that.

Your plan sounds better than what I do and I get some pretty good hatches. Good luck!

 

[Beccichka]

When the sperm joins with the hen's egg cell at fertilization they form a zygote. A zygote is a single cell. It starts dividing and forms an embryo. This joining can only occur in the first few minutes of the egg's journey through the hen's internal egg making factory. That total journey takes approximately 25 hours. During this journey the hen's internal heat keeps the cells dividing. There are certain byproducts formed during this process, that's why you can see a bull's eye in a fertile egg. Once it is laid the development really slows down but the embryo is still alive.

The perfect temperature to store a fertile egg until you can start incubating is around 55 degrees Fahrenheit. If the embryo gets too cold it can die. There is not a set temperature for that though freezing is not good. And it is a matter of how long it is at that temperature. I would not be that concerned if it were down to 40 F as long as you collect them daily. If you could collect them 2 or 3 times a day even better. Other things happen when they get warmer but that's not your problem.

I collect eggs for hatching when the temperature is below freezing occasionally but I collect them several times a day. I store them at room temperature, in winter around 72 F, and can keep them for at least a week with no loss of fertility. At 55 F you should be able to keep them for at least two weeks with no loss of fertility.

They will need to be turned so the yolk doesn't sink and touch the inside if the shell where it can become stuck. Some people store them in egg cartons and move a block of wood from one end to the other. I lay mine flat and put an "x" on one side and an "o" on the other so I can tell when they have been rolled over. It is considered best to turn them an odd number of times a day. As long as you turn them about the same time each day they will wind up spending about the same amount of time in each position. Some people take the automatic turner out of their incubator and store the eggs on that.

Your plan sounds better than what I do and I get some pretty good hatches. Good luck!

I do not have an even 55 to keep my chicken eggs at. It was in the 30's yesterday when I collected them. I put them in a cooler in our coolest room and it was 65. So I added an ice pack and kept the lid open slightly. I think it got as cool as 40 then by this morning it was 60. This is a wide fluctuation. You mentioned you have stored at 72, so maybe my 65-68 is ok? What do you suggest?

 

[Ridgerunner]

Very few of us have perfect conditions for much if anything to do with chickens, we just have to do the best we reasonably can. If you were hatching 1,000,000 chicks each week like some commercial operations then a fraction of a percent difference is noticeable. I'm not hatching that many and I won't notice a small difference. With my small batches that difference is not even going to be one chick.

Wide fluctuations in temperature are probably going to harm them more that a little too cold or warm. When a hen hides a nest she may lay eggs for a couple of weeks to get a brood and then incubates them for three weeks. Until she starts incubating them she is only on the nest long enough to lay an egg. They undergo whatever the weather gives them and the broody hens usually get a good hatch.

Don't overthink it. In your case I'd store them in the 60's, turning them so the yolk doesn't settle. I'd set them when I had however many you want, whether that is a couple of days or over a week. Two weeks would be my limit for storage. Just start them all at the same time and let us know how it works.