Eggs are Here!

My PO actually called to see if i wanted to come in to pick up my package, since it is EGGS!!! How sweet of them. But i am still in my robe and needing to get off DG and print the label for the eggs i am shipping.

This really is almost as exciting as getting them from the hatchery. Maybe doubly so, since i get to open and egg box, then watch them hatch! WHHHHHOOOOOOOOOOOOOWWWEEEEEEEEEEE!!!

So, who else ordered/has ordered eggs?

Should i expect breakages?

Not putting them in the bator till Friday...

I am excited for you TF! I have Buff Columbian, Columbian, and Partridge Rock bantam eggs in transit from Ca.
I have had good luck when eggs are individually wrapped in bubble wrap and packed in peanuts or paper.
Terrible luck with eggs wrapped in paper and put into an egg carton, then packed into paper in a box. It seems that the egg carton transfers a lot of shock, and that is how my other eggs had the air sac damaged (which by the way, none of those are fertile that had the "TAC").

Why wait until Friday to put them in the bator? I have read that every day they become less viable, especially after 7 days? I don't have enough experience to say, but makes sense...

I ordered some cochin bantam eggs since I didnt order any of them as chicks.
I am excited too, cant wait till they come in so I can watch them hatch.
my DGD is the one that wanted me to get some eggs to watch hatch,
But you know she didnt have to twist my arm!!!
I have never hatched eggs myself before, so this will be my first!

TamaraFaye, I hope you keep us posted on your progress!!!!!

i should be receiving more eggs tomorrow, friday, and saturday.

i am incubating Friday, all eggs were gathered fresh this week.

busy building more brooders, or i would be on DG more!

what is TAC???

Hi TamaraFaye, TAC stands for "tremulous air cell"--which is the technical term for when the air sack at the top of the egg comes lose and starts moving around the egg. One of the things that can cause it is rough handling and it affects the hatchability of eggs so it is A BAD THING to find when your hatching eggs arrive in the mail. There is more on the thread: http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/816145/.

I can't wait for my eggs to come so I can join the fun!

thanks! i shippe dsome eggs out today, wrapped like burritos in small bubbl ewrap.

recd some bantam eggs, 40, in a small box, dliecatley wrappe din quilted northern tissues, placed in cartons, and filled with shredded paper. however, the box had four cartons, was tightly packed, so perhaps they will be allright.

a peacock breeder told me she thinks the bubble wrap suffocates the embryo, thus affecting hatching rate...

here's to a great hatching rate for everyone!!!

I'm with you TF, lots of eggs going in the bator on Friday here also. White Ameraucanas, and Buff Columbian Rock bantams. What did U get for bantam eggs?

Rosecombs in Black and in Blue Laced which will throw some black. OEG in BW Mottled. Mille Fleur D'Uccles. OEG in Self Blue.

Still had plenty of room, since a friend loaned me two bators. So for her i bought the BLR Wyandottes. She won't need all of them LOL.

Then i have eggs coming from a swap here. Plus my Big Birds.

When i am done [still adjusting bators today], i will be celebrating with come chocolate egg nog with the first eggs laid that don't go in the incubator! With my luck it will Duck eggs ;-)

The OEG in self-blue are on my list for next year. I may try crossing them onto the Serama, to increase egg size and get some blue Seramas. If you end up with some good breeders, I may hit you up next spring for eggs...Scott

cool!

i want to see what happens when you cross them with blue wheaten.

also, the BW mottled will have the possibility of the blue gene... see hen in back...

Of course the die-hard Serama bunch will have kittens at the mere thought of breeding in OEG.

Did you get your Mille Fleur eggs from Lynne on Ovabid? I see she has some listed there. Also, I noticed that Welp hatchery has them as day-olds, for $3.33 each, and I checked this a.m., they do have them available (and Quail Antwerps also). Welp also has free shipping, but a minimum order of 30 on bantams.

We'll be counting the days with you TF! That's a beautiful picture!

no,no,no,no,no! imeant the OEG self blue with the OEG blue wheaten!

yes, they are coming from ovabid, but not from Lynne...

thanks Sue. we hope our babies look as good as their mommy's and daddy!

Scott, i see now, you were the one that suggested crossing them! OK by me LOL, as long as everyone knows it was YOUR idea! I reamin in-no-cent!

Very pretty birds, TF. Have a great time with your eggs!
I received my eggs in a special quail carton, packed around
with peanuts. Out of 12, only one had a tiny crack in the top,
probably from when the top was mashed down to close up the
box. They marked the box 'fragile'. The other box had no
markings on the outside, the seller said USPS will intentionally
mis-handle boxes marked with fragile or eggs. Maybe her USPS,
but I don not think all are that way. Her box looked drop kicked.
The inside was packed with masses of toilet paper, and the eggs
individually wrapped in toilet paper, several were broken and the
gooey mess dried to other eggs and TP just making an awful mess. My postal lady told me that tissue paper and other papers condense during
shipping, making them less puffy and more compacted. Ah,
peanuts do not compact, IMHO. I have read seller's at Eggbid
will double box their eggs, and this sounds best, with many
good reviews from buyers. We will see what I get with the
really good breeder's eggs next month. He is very picky about
everything, from how experienced you are with the breed you
want to his bloodlines, and special nutrition - everything, so I
hope he is just as picky about egg shipping.

may none of princess tammy's eggs break.

This message was edited Feb 28, 2008 1:12 PM

thanks, truest. so far i have rec'd two shipments of eggs, both packed differently, one labeled eggs and one not. NOT A SINGLE CRACK IN ANY!

two down, two to go...

Yea! maybe that means the eggs were carefully handled, too.
I hope you get great hatches from these.

may princess tammy enjoy her last day as princess.

When I ship eggs I wrap each egg in bubble wrap,put them in a carton,wrap that in bubble wrap,box it (with bubble wrap and rebox,double box)

and you guys have to remember
these boxes of eggs are loaded into tractor trailers,stacked from floor to ceiling with everything you can think of.
Protect the eggs
it can end up in the bottom with a couple of 50 lb boxes on them
Then the driver is driving down the road and some stupid car or SUV cuts him off or slams on their brakes in front of them
Guess what happens to the eggs....

sorry
it was a rough nite driving to jersey and back

Just imagine if USPS wasn't an option, then we would have to use UPS....OUCH

Ahhhh,thats who I drive for.........

Sorry, (Picture: Maineiac opening mouth inserting foot) no offense intended Crestedchik,
I have a friend that drives for them also, and he explained the UPS test to me when I was packing up some things I sold. He asked me if I could stand on the box and the contents would remain unbroken then it was safe to ship? I didn't know if he was kidding me...I rec'd a set of deer antlers in the mail once that were broken in two pieces (packed poorly), which may support his story...

Every company ships the same way
UPS,USPS,FedX,DHL
They all go in tractor trailers
stuff gets smushed
Do the UPS test with the eggs....giggle

and no offense taken
Heck I ship priority......
can't afford UPS...ssshhhhhhhhh
don't tell anyone

LOL you two...

going to pick up my BLRS and MF Duccles.

my self blue OEG eggs came yesterday from ovabid. got 10, in perfect condition.

crossing my fingers for the OEGS.

however, i haven't checked the airsacs because my UPS delivery is LATE, which included a bator, hatcher, and egg candler. the one my DH built just doesn't cut it...

OOPPPPSSSSS..........
did you track it?

yep. the first tracking number they gave me had been delted. somewhere along the line somebody decided to change it from two packages to one. guess they didn't catch the part about how quilckly i needed it [but coudln't afford 2nd day air rates]. so in the process, that delayed it leaving the hatchery, and instead of coming Friday, it should be here Tuesday.

there is room, since the OEG eggs are so tiny, but the eggs I picke dup are questionable. so i wait for UPS or until a friend can come help me candle these. they look damaged inside, but no cracks outside. hard to believe they got cold with all that bubble warp for insulation...

so crestedchik, it is actually Meyer to blame, not UPS... i can still cross my fingers and hope for Monday. I'll track it tomorrow... maybe call Pampa and see if i can drive there and pick it up, sometimes that saves a day.

tf

i tracked it, scheduled for tomorrow. i can only hope they put me on the business truck so i get the early delivery.

meanwhile, 4 of 12 BLRs have TACs. i am hoping the "grease spots" inside the MFs are pigments, since the eggs are cream colored.

so all are in incubator. kind acrowded in there. look forward to UPS delivery tomorrow. set up last hovabotr with turner to move some eggs into, then add some of my own flock.

oh, and my new candler is coming in the order too!!!

here is another parent picture, the MF D'Uccles:

UPS was here just before lunch, so of courese, lunch was late while i unpacke dand set everything up. I was very pleased with ho ell Meyer packed it all into one box and individually wrapped items. The book on hatching looks great, will help me candle. the bator was waremd up in no time. Between the CA eggs [BLRW] and mine, i had one little hole left. no biggie. i fgure after cadling i'll have lots of empty spaces. but this afternoon my DH went to check for eggs and noticed my little Blue Wheaten laid one. A little smaller then usual, but quite timely. I let it sit for w ahile, since somebody [SC?] said they shouldn't go right in. But now the tiny thing is sitting in the bator/turner, surrounded by XLarge and Jumbo eggs!

So I have 126 eggs in the hovabators, and 53 OEG eggs in the Brower. The brower has room for the hygrometer, and i want to be careful with humdity on such tiny eggs.

My DH hasn't counted them yet LOL. Time to go use my new candler!

Loving everyone's pictures of hatches! Hope to be able to start sharing soon... thanks for y'alls help.

one bator, 42 eggs [all mine] set to hatch 3-11 & 3-15. three with live beating embryos! how cool is that, now i can see so well! 6 are very dark maybes. others, which were fertile, just weren't viable...

it will be a few more days before the others are far enough along to check. i really can recommend the candler from Meyer hatchery...

So happy you are on your way to new chicks TF! I love
getting new stuff. Is your candler a cool light hand held?
Do you have any buff or brown eggs in there, and if so, how
well can you see inside those? Good luck on your hatch.

may princess kathy have a cool candler!

I scrolled to the top of this thread to see if I could remember what kind of bator you had.. and in your first post you said..

Lol!

well, it IS a small town, only teeny boppers are allowed to go around in PJs. although a couple of years ago I...

OH, right, you want to know what kind of bator. they are made by GQFMFG, i bought them from Meyer hatchery, & the box said Hovabator. i borrowed two from a friend & bought one. they all have egg turners, that will certainly increase my hatch!

I also purcased a hovabator with a fan & BIG window to use for hatching.

& its a cool light candler with a five foot cord. you are supposed to be able to just hold it over the eggs while in the turners, but me being new, i have to pick up the egg & turn it. the three that have moving living chicks inside are all brown eggs. but i have six others that are so dark i can't be sure...

yesterday DH finished building the first penthouse for the OEGs. still lacks the ramp. i will take a picture shortly and post it [got my new cable yesterday!]

thanks for all the nice comments, and even the sorted pink ones LOL

tf

Hey, not fair leaving us hanging with that story!lol!

sorry, been busy with school. apparently i need to install some software before i can upload the picture.

those poor Wheatens. i moved them into their penthouse, and they really liked it, till they couldn't go down the ramp, the hole was too small. it was big enough when we tested it yesterday BEFORE the ramp was added.

so DH is working on that, and they are living in the upstairs part. i had to have the brooder for 11 unruly chicks, sex link roosters, who won't stay in the temp brooder!

so, will post later...

OK, egg-citing news. we have two pipping. they were due to hatch by Wed. then i checked my book, and humidity and temps are slightly different with a forced air bator, which i am using for a hatcher. so i took a plug out, and now things are moving along... there are six eggs in there, all from my flock. last night i had a dream one came out looking like a fully feathered blonde serama! talk about dreaming LOL, mine are Buckeyes and Jersey Giants!

most of the eggs i purchased have been culled, but there are a few left. and i rec'd some eggs from a DGers flock that are doing nicely too! those are all due around Easter time!

for the next time i ship eggs, i picked up a 250# box from the liquor store. it even has dividers in it!

i have ONE TAC that is developing. the rest devolped blood rings, a sign of early death. and many i PAID MONEY FOR candled clear too.

oh, well. i like welp. if i don't get enough OEGs, i'll order them!

tf

i don't have many left in the bator cept mine & another DGers...

but one Buckeye hatched by 8 PM, the other after midnight!

this tired momma will move all dry chicks to the nursery after a little shut eye!

our little pullet is just nuts over the peeping coming from in there...

Congratulations, TamaraFaye! So many chick, so little time.... With my sons at college I should have more time for chicks, but now I'm working full time and envy anyone who can check the incubator several times a day. My collegues at work make fun of my "chicken obsession", but I just read Pollons' "The Omnivores' Dilemma" and feel really good about what I am trying to do with the chickens. Have you read it? Verrrry interesting.

I didn't know you had Buckeyes! I love brown chickens. My Welsummers are turning a beautiful mahogany color. What are Buckeyes like? They sound like they have a lot of personality.

Hope you got some rest!

no, haven't read it. sound like i need to if it justifies this chick sickness LOL

rest? when having babies??? you nuts?

here they are...

yes, we love their personality. here is Apricot, he will be our new roo. a half brother to one chick, full to the other. just took this pic this morning, he is four months old....

no more pipping today. need to catch up on some ZZZZssss