 With a bit of trial and error, we’ve found a safe, reliable packing method for shipping hatching eggs that works for us–and I’ll show you exactly how we do it in this post.
One of the most common questions I get from folks who don’t have chickens, but know that we ship hatching eggs all over the U.S., is this: “How in the world do you send eggs in the mail without them breaking?” They are often surprised when I tell them that preventing breakage during transit is easy. The trick, though, is to pack an egg well enough that it not only doesn’t break, but also develops into a healthy, thriving chick. That, my friends, is no small feat–especially when shipping and incubating conditions are outside of our control. Once the eggs leave our hands and enter the labyrinth of the USPS, their ultimate fate is beyond our influence. They will face unpredictable handling in transit, and experience a range of incubation conditions. Our part in ensuring a good hatch for our customers is to pack their eggs with the utmost care. Of course, there’s more than one effective way to pack hatching eggs for shipping. I’ll also share some general best practices for shipping eggs, and discuss a couple good alternatives to our method.
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 I can't really blame a chicken for wanting to taste this rainbow! Chances are, if you have chickens, you love eating eggs. Unfortunately, sometimes your chickens will get a taste of their own raw eggs and love them, too! If you’ve ever had a serious egg eating issue in your flock, then you know how frustrating it can be to care for your flock with no eggs in return. In this post, we will talk about why and how the egg eating habit begins, and the interventions you can use to snap your birds out of this habit.
 “What is the difference between hatching eggs and eating eggs?” A friend asked Sarah and I this most eggs-cellent question recently while we were hanging some flyers for our farm. This is a great question. Producing eating eggs is pretty straightforward: eggs laid, eggs eaten. Far more goes into the production and selection of a hatching egg. I thought I'd share some of the differences here. When we produce hatching eggs, we pay careful attention to: Freshness: Eating eggs last for weeks, but a hatching egg should be a week old, max, when placed in the incubator. This week includes collection, shipping, and at least a day of rest after shipping. Selective breeding: This includes understanding genetics, knowing the Standard of Perfection for the breed, spending time evaluating each bird, knowing their individual health and temperament, keeping good records, and more.
Housing: All that selective breeding requires housing! Our laying flock can hang out in one big coop, but our breeding groups need separate coops and tractors so that we can guarantee pure breed chicks and keep good records. Since we use a clan mating method, each breed has three separately housed groups. Quality: Not every fertile egg is a hatching egg. They need to be clean, well shaped, have a strong shell, and be free of defects or oddities. Handling: There’s a live embryo inside! We handle our hatching eggs with care, making sure to store them air cell up in a clean, sanitized, dedicated space at the right temperature and humidity, until carefully packaged for shipment or delivery. Fertility: Each breeding group needs a great rooster, and before sharing eggs we test hatch for fertility, to make sure that our boys are doing their jobs and that our chicks are hatching without issue. |
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