Cold hatching egg

[Sharon Yorks]

Just went out to the coop to bed everyone down and found an unexpected egg. It's 17 degrees right now, and the egg was pretty cold, but I had just been out the about an hour and a half ago and it wasn't there. To get to the point...anyone have any idea how cold an egg can be and still be hatchable? I know there's no way to tell exactly how cold it is, but does anyone have any stories or experiences with hatching cold eggs?

[Tailfeathers]

Sharon, I remember 2-3 years ago accidentally putting a couple of eggs in the frig that I wanted to set.  They were in there for 2 days and they still both hatched. 

And, for what it's worth, I also had power go out a couple of years ago for 3 days.  I had an incubator full of eggs.  So I took the trays out, put them inside a sleeping bag, and then all that inside another sleeping bag rated for like 10-15 below.  I don't remember if they all hatched but I do remember that a bunch of them did although they were 2 days late if I remember right.

God Bless,

[Mike Gilbert]

Sharon, all you can do is try.   You will know it was good if you can candle a developing embryo within a week.   If you decide to incubate it, let us know how it turned out.  Sometimes I get cold eggs and incubate them, but I have never marked them to see which ones don't turn out.

[Sharon Yorks]

Yes, I plan on setting it and a few of the others I found that were cold. I marked them so I will know. I'm kind of in an experimental mood. The one thing I DIDN'T want to experiment with was incubator temperatures. I have 2 Styrofoam incubators going right now, one for baking and one for hatching. I have several dates going at the same time and just move them over on their 18th day. I took the thermometers (2) out and had them in the hatcher. I figured it would be okay since my Hova-Bator 1588 has a digital read out anyway. I just placed the thermometers back in it and the dang thing had spiked to 102. I don't know how long it has been that high. It could be anywhere up to a few days. Needless to say I'm really ticked! This is the 3rd time it has spiked for no apparent reason...well, I'm sure there is one but I can't figure out why. I switched lids with my Hova-Bator 1583 which has always been reliable and I see it is still where I had it last night. I have about 15 more due to hatch from there on Feb 9th. I'll let you know how it turns out.

[HarryS]

You should candle the egg to make sure it did not freeze and have a cracked shell otherwise it should be good.
I use to put my surplus eggs in the refrigerator for up to two weeks and take them to an auction till I found out people were buying them at commercial eggs prices and hatching most of them.  I now feed them back to the chickens instead.

[Jean]

Sharon,

An little styrofoam incubator will have different temp settings when empty and when full.  The eggs at the end of incubation will make a little bit of their own heat.  It is very important to watch the temperature when adding eggs to an empty incubator.

[Mike Gilbert]

I have 2 Styrofoam incubators going right now, one for baking and one for hatching. . . 

I love baked chicken, but we usually let them grow a bit first! 

[Sharon Yorks]

Ha! Ha! Mike. Kind of like little appetizers. Gee Whiz you got me thinking like that. Stop it!

I spoke with Twin City Poultry (who I purchased the incubator through) and we kind of came up with the thought that the humidity in my office where I hatch eggs is way to dry and that the incubator is running low of moisture very fast. I kind of see the logic, but he agreed with me that if it's 102 inside the incubator, the heat shouldn't still kick on, that it's internal thermometer or sensor doesn't seem to be working right. Vic was concerned about my eggs and is sending me a new one. 

If anyone is looking for a place to order poultry supplies, I suggest you check into Twin City Poultry. I cannot express how great he (Vic) has been to work with. He always ships "very" fast, welcomes your calls if you have questions, and I feel is very reasonably priced. Here's a link: http://www.twincitypoultrysupplies.com/store/

[Beth C]

I'll second that - love Twin City!

Holy cow, Harry, people will do anything to get your birds! I would have never imagined eggs that had been in the fridge for weeks would hatch.

[Mike Gilbert]

I'll second that - love Twin City!

I purchased my Marek's vaccine  from Twin City this year on line, thanks to a tip from John Blehm.   Their base price for the vaccine was the same as 1st State Vet Supply, but I saved $44.25 on shipping and the container the vaccine comes in.  They did not furnish the syringes like 1st State does, but I had plenty on hand anyway.  No charge for the container, and timely delivery via UPS or Fed Express, forget which.  That got my attention. 

[Max]

Yea, Twin City is great. I've ordered from them a couple of times. This time I ordered my Marek's vaccine from Jeffers. I got three viles of Marek's(1000 doses each), 10 syringe/needle combos, and a nice soft sided zip top cooler for $73.35 shipping included. Shipping was $12.00.

[Sharon Yorks]

Well, I guess turning up the oven temperature really does bake things a little faster. I just walked into my office to find a chirping baby chick looking up at me in the incubator and several more pipping. That really doesn't sound unusually other than they weren't due until Saturday night and this is Thursday. I'm just so thankful that when the temperature spiked a few days ago, it didn't fry them...especially since the only 4 eggs I have from Esther are in there. I noticed 2 of hers is pipping and one of her others is rocking   

[jerryse]

You should candle the egg to make sure it did not freeze and have a cracked shell otherwise it should be good.
I use to put my surplus eggs in the refrigerator for up to two weeks and take them to an auction till I found out people were buying them at commercial eggs prices and hatching most of them.  I now feed them back to the chickens instead.

Illinois no longer allows eggs for eating at the sale barn.All are sold as hatching eggs.They have the opposite problem.Surplus eggs [old] being sold as hatching eggs.I believe they can be sold as eating eggs if refrigerated but the sale barn does not want to supply a refrigerator or have issues with the state.