by Heather Nicholson of Scratch Cradle
If you plan to ship hatching eggs, research the laws for shipping hatching eggs into all states. You can begin your search here. Information will be listed online by each state’s Department of Agriculture. All states have some laws and some, such as South Dakota and Hawaii, have very restrictive regulations. There are sometimes severe legal penalties for violating these laws. Most states require NPIP certification, Pullorum and Typhoid testing, and a permit with health certification. If you will be selling eggs locally, you can restrict your research to your home state.Where to sell
Most eggs are sold in groups of 6+, 12+, 8, 10, 16, 24, or 36. The “plus” means that extras will be included to offset any eggs damaged in transit. One extra egg for every six-to-eight is reasonable, but people love extras. If you will not include any extras, use the word “exactly” in your ad, as in “exactly 15 eggs.” Limit your sale to what you can reasonably expect your breeding flock to produce in three days or less.Look at the prices commanded by other sellers with comparable products in a comparable market. For example, look at the prices of other hatching eggs in your local paper or search for similar hatching eggs on the website. If you are selling on an auction site, you might begin bidding at the lowest price you are willing to sell your eggs for. If you are selling at a fixed or “Buy it Now” price on an auction site or through another outlet, price competitively.
Prices vary based on the quality of the parent stock. Hatchery or “pet quality” eggs might warrant $6 to $18 dollars a dozen while breeder quality eggs might reasonably bring anywhere from $20 to $200 dollars a dozen. There aren’t technically any “show quality” eggs because even show quality parents’ offspring cannot be guaranteed. However, this term is commonly used and may be appropriate if the parent stock place well in poultry shows. Some sellers price by the egg with $2.50 to $6.00 per egg being quite common.
Hatching eggs are not guaranteed in any way due to circumstances beyond the seller’s control such as shipping, handling, and incubation conditions. Fertile eggs can fail to develop and appear clear because of damage during shipping. While every effort will be made to provide you with fertile, well-packaged eggs, the seller will not be held liable for the eggs’ failure to develop or hatch. If the eggs you have selected are not available to ship on the date you have selected, you may request a refund or select another shipping date.
Include pictures of your breeding flock from the current year. Present your chickens well. Be sure that the picture is in focus. Take the picture inside the run or while the flock is ranging so that there is no wire between you and the subjects of the photo. If there is wire, at least make sure that the subject is in focus. Pay attention to the background. Remove any distracting clutter to make a good impression.Taking the order
Store the eggs in a closed carton. Place the carton in a cool corner of your home, about 55-68 degrees F. with 75% humidity. To up the humidity, place a small bowl of water beside the carton. To prevent the yolk from sticking to one side of the eggs, elevate one end of the carton on a book or small block of wood and move the block to elevate the other end once a day.
Summer’s heat and winter’s freezing temperatures will damage eggs in transit. Schedule your shipments to avoid these dangers. Check the weather not only in your home area but also at the destination and in-between.
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A porous egg |
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A non-porous egg – Ship these |
Final egg selection
Select smooth, normally shaped eggs. Candle your eggs to check for porosity and eliminate any overtly porous eggs because these will not hatch as well. Do not include any eggs with hairline cracks. Select eggs from a variety of hens, and if possible, more than one rooster to provide the greatest genetic diversity.
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Basque Hen eggs shipped by J. Meeks of Skyline Poultry, the originator of the Meeks Method |
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Meeks Method, enhanced breeder rations, careful storage, and skilled incubation + 1,800 miles = 90% hatch rate! |
Packing eggs for shipping
Mark the outside of the box as agreed upon. You will likely want to have the delivery held for pick-up (“Hold for pick-up: Call ###-###-####”) and mark the box “Fragile” if nothing else.
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Foam egg shippers |
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Poorly wrapped eggs often do not arrive intact |
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Eggs can arrive intact but unhatchable because their internal structures are compromised. Not one of these eggs hatched. |
Communication with your buyer
You may want to encourage buyers to contact you after the hatch or you may want to send follow-up emails. If they had a good hatch, ask if you can use photos of their chicks and their testimonial in your future listings. Keep their email address and send them exclusive offers or news about their favorite breeds to maintain customer loyalty.
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Be sure to ask for pictures of the chicks and a testimonial! |
7 Comments
[…] “Hatching eggs are not guaranteed in any way due to circumstances beyond the seller’s control such as shipping, handling, and incubation conditions. Fertile eggs can fail to develop and appear clear because of damage during shipping. While every effort will be made to provide you with fertile, well-packaged eggs, the seller will not be held liable for the eggs’ failure to develop or hatch. If the eggs you have selected are not available to ship on the date you have selected, you may request a refund or select another shipping date.” ~Source […]
do you deliver to israel
Thank you for the excellent article Heather! We are just about to start shiping the eggs from our beautiful Euskal Oiloas and it is great to know how to do it properly. I recieved eggs from the other side the country and was disappointed by how few of them were viable at the 14 day mark. Those same eggs were quite porous. Why are some eggs so porous? Do the hen’s need more calcium?
Great article from an awesome writer, thank you Heather!
Thank you, Brice! It works well very consistently for everyone I know who’s tried it. I’d be curious to know how you modified the method, unless it’s a trade secret. 😉
Heather,
Great post, lots of really good information here. We’ve started using a modified version of the Meek’s method, it really is the best. Thanks for sharing.
Best,
Brice
Sunbird Farms
Very neat! It would be interesting to stick one into a box of hatching eggs and see what it registers. Excellent idea!
I just learned about these inexpensive sensors today. They measure and record rough handling during delivery.
http://www.newscientist.com/blogs/onepercent/2013/02/parcel-sentinel-grasses-on-dod.html