How to successfully hatch Shipped Eggs

Tips to help get the best possible hatch from shipped eggs

by Scott Latta - Alabama Poultry Association

For those of us that purchase eggs online & have them shipped to us, getting a good hatch can be difficult sometimes, due to poor packaging and/or rough handling, combined with the ride in the chilly, unpressurized cargo hold of an airplane at 30,000 ft altitude. Spending good money on eggs, & having them not hatch is frustrating. I know, 'cause I've "been there, done that". So I did some research & compiled a tip sheet for myself, which I though I'd share with you. (A lot of this was just "copy 'n' paste", because I wanted to have it all in one place for easy reference.)

The first thing, of course, is to visually inspect the eggs for damage. Handle the eggs gently; carefully check for any visible signs of damage to the shell. Then, candle the eggs, with a candler, or a strong flashlight. (An LED flashlight works great for this, unless the shells are really thick or dark colored.) You want to candle the eggs to check for fine hairline cracks that you might not see with the naked eye, & to check for internal damage. When looking for internal damage, the main thing to look for is a detached air cell. What does that mean? What is a detached air cell & what does it look like? Why is it important to check for it? [Those were my questions exactly, so I went looking for answers.]

If you candle the eggs from the big end, you can see the air cell very plainly in that end..You should see an air cell in each egg...the older the egg the, the bigger the cell, but you should still see one in each egg. I candle with a hand-held candler. I hold the egg upright, big end up, and place the candling light on top of it where the air cell is located. Keeping the candling light in place, I gently tilt the egg to one side and then the other...if the air cell is stable, you will not notice it shifting around. In an egg with an intact air cell, the air cell should stay fixed in position at the big end of the egg. If the air cell is just loose, but not completely detached, it will shift slightly out of place; if it is detached completely, it will "roll" to the uppermost surface of the egg's contents. Think of the air pocket at the top of an unopened bottle of water. When you tilt the bottle it shifts, "rolling" to the top of the water's surface, whatever position the bottle is in. In an egg with an intact air cell, the air cell should stay fixed in position at the big end of the egg. The reason it is important that the air cell remain in the proper position, in the large end of the egg is this: The head of the chick develops at the large end of the egg. Between the 15th and 16th days, the chick orients itself so that its head is near the air cell at the large end of the egg. Not long before the chick is ready to attempt to make its way out of the shell its neck acquires a double bend so that its beak is under its right wing and pointed toward the air cell. About the 19th day the chick thrusts its head forward. Its beak quickly breaks through the inner shell membrane, and the chick's lungs begin to function. If the air cell is not in the right place, the chick will die.

But, even if you find that the air cells are detached, all is not lost...you CAN still set them, in an incubator, and possibly get them to hatch. It requires a little extra attention, and gentle handling of the developing eggs, but it can be done, so don't toss the eggs if they aren't cracked. Here are some good tips, from a veteran hatcher of shipped eggs and from an avian veterinarian with lots of experience in hatching shipped eggs. (The vet used to hatch out very rare and endangered parrots and condors for Cornell University; some of the eggs were shipped from 1/2 way around the world...so lots of experience went into learning how to get the best possible hatch rates)

Shipped eggs cheat sheet

Don't be in a big hurry to get your eggs straight into the incubator. Shipped eggs need to sit and rest. Place them, big end up in an open egg carton and allow them to rest at room temp, for 12-24 hours. This lets the air cell settle into position at the top of the egg (the big end) and allows the temp to stabilize before placing them in the incubator. It also helps to avoid condensation of moisture inside the cell, which can encourage bacterial growth. The fresher the egg the better. The ones that have developed to a point can have DNA scrambled from pressure and cold of the flight. Allowing them to sit and rest, some are able to recover but may quit later on if enough cellular damage is done.

Never be impatient to get eggs into your incubator. Allow eggs to sit 12 - 24 hrs in a place where, if they are cool, they can warm up slowly. Leave them, after carefully unwrapped, upright inside cartons and close lid so they will not warm up too quickly. Eggs that warm too quickly, or cool too quickly are shocked, which causes lower hatch rate, & is one of the reasons shipped eggs do not fare well. Slow cooling and heating give better success. Cool eggs can remain in cool area, remember warm very slowly, do not ever shock shipped eggs or any egg by throwing it in the incubator. This causes condensation on the inside of the cool egg and bacteria begin to grow and kill the egg. Always warm cool eggs slowly. Try to keep already warm eggs stable, do not allow those to take sudden chill. Warm eggs that take a sudden drop in temps will kill the developing germ. Even in late development.

You should have your incubator up and running days before they arrive, in order to stabilize the temperature. [Some advise running your humidity lower than recommended to help air cells to dry down and aid in healing, but if your incubator is inside, in a climate controlled room, I'd say it's okay to run at normal settings.]With shipped eggs that have air cell damage, it's best to have them incubate in the upright position the entire time of incubation, without turning them at all for the first 7 days. This stabilizes the air cell and gives the embryo a better chance to start growing and get strong. After the first week, is is okay to start "turning" the eggs, by tipping them back and forth or side to side, always leaving the eggs in the upright position. Eggs that have the air cells damaged so bad that they'll shift all the way down the side of the egg have successfully been hatched doing it this way. To get them to hatch you first have to get the embryo growing & building up strength. That is always the biggest battle. That's what blood rings are in shipped eggs. The embryo starts and then dies because it can't attach itself properly in the egg.

Sitting still in the incubator for up to 7 days allows the embryo to get off to a good start and facilitates healing of the air cell.

Unfortunately, an automatic egg turner does not have a low or 'gentle' switch it only tilts, all the way to one side then the other; that can cause problems due to the fact that a loose air cell can heal in an odd shape that makes zipping more difficult at hatch time. So it is best to just carefully place the eggs upright into egg cartons, with the lids removed and "turn" them by hand.

Allow shipped hatching eggs to sit upright position in incubator without turning for the first 7 days; this allows air cells to stabilize and gives the germ time to organize and get a healthy start without constantly being moved disturbing delicate vessels and cell formation. Shipped eggs most likely suffered some damage, constantly disturbing this formation will give lower hatches. Be patient...do not touch the eggs in the incubator for the first 7 days, then carefully candle eggs to check for development. Gently lift them up in the upright position, & holding them upright, set the small end on your candler. After you candle all the eggs, on day 7, try not to be tempted to touch them again till around day 14 (I know, IT'S HARD, but remember your babies need every chance they can get). If you absolutely can't help yourself, limit yourself to looking at 1 or 2 eggs. You will be absolutely amazed at how well it works. That sloppy air cell will be rock solid by day 12.

After candling on day 7, start turning and turn 3 times a day. This exercises the embryo and prevents the embryo from laying in an area where waste product inside the eggs collects, helps circulation and proper development.

Remember how delicate the tiny embryo and veins are, so no fast twisting or tilting. Make sure any turning is gentle, and no flatter than 45 degrees, the more vertical (upright) the egg stays, the better! Stop turning the eggs on day 18, and put them into lockdown. It is okay to candle the eggs one last time before going into lockdown. In fact it a good to do so, to check how the air cell healed. Some breeders recommend tracing the outline of the air cell with pencil of any that are in an odd place or healed in a funny pattern, once in a while those stop zipping because the pattern is strange shape. By tracing the outline you will be less likely to cut into veins, or working parts, just in case in case you need to go in and help that one. Shipped eggs are like ICU patients, in that they require extra care & attention in order to promote and facilitate proper healing, but, often, even with the extra TLC, the air cell has healed in an odd shape and the chick will pip and stop or pip, start to zip and run into material that it can't continue through...so make every effort to stabilize those air cells. If a chick does run into trouble after pipping, you can help it hatch, but you must be careful when doing so.

Now, moving on to lockdown...Do NOT lay shipped eggs down on their sides in most cases during lockdown. It is best to sit these in slightly cut down paper cartons...do not use styro cartons as they heat and release chemicals that can be toxic. Cutting the side of the carton down just a little ensures pipping can occur without running into carton wall. After candling each egg, & marking air cell outlines, if necessary, transfer them to cut down egg cartons with the large ends up for hatching. Then, all you have left to do is watch & wait, knowing you did everything you could to give your potential feather-babies the best possible chance.

Sometimes before or during shipment conditions are right for the germ to begin to develop, this is the most delicate time for a hatching egg. And the time when most are damaged....tiny blood vessels are beginning to form, and cells are dividing and organizing, and being shocked with sudden temp changes and shaking. So don't beat yourself up if all of your shipped eggs do not hatch, more than air cell damage, the germ itself became disorganized and cannot rebuild itself. That is why the freshest shipped eggs are most desirable. You will get a larger percentage to hatch using this method, but it is so worth it to buy from a good breeder. Often it just isn't possible to drive across the country just to pick up some eggs or birds & we are left with no choice but to have eggs shipped to us. But we must remember that post office personnel are not trained in handling these products; their job is simply to move items from place to place....so try these tips & follow this method and hopefully, you will get good or even great results.

So after reading all this info, thereby being armed with a better understanding of what kind of damage shipping can do to an egg, this is what I decided to do:

I took an egg carton, (a styrofoam one, since that's all I had, I'm trying to locate a paper egg flat) removed the lid and the front flap, set it in the 'bator and carefully placed the eggs in with the pointy end down, letting them lean against the side of the cups. They sit at just the right angle, I think, to facilitate turning...just about 65 degrees; not straight up 90 degrees, but not terribly far off, either. So to turn, we merely need to gently roll the egg around the side of the cup....I think it's going to work well, as far as keeping them in the optimum position. I'm even consider putting another one in for the half-dozen Silkie eggs I added this morning. lol...I'm hoping (& praying!!!) this will help me get a good hatch. Hopefully, it will help someone else, as well.

NOTE: These instructions are only for shipped eggs that need special attention; eggs right out of your own barn without damage can be handled differently. A hen doesn't lay her eggs big end up and there is no pressure damage to an air cell that might locate itself in odd position..those can be warmed up carefully and placed right into the incubator.

HAPPY HATCHING!!!!