FAQ reLAted to our Eggs and Chicks
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Do you guarantee that all my eggs will hatch?
Our eggs are gathered daily, shipped no more than 3 days after they are laid, and stored properly to ensure freshness and improve viability. We cannot guarantee your hatch rate because we have no control over the incubation conditions with which you try to hatch them. Eggs will not develop into chicks unless exacting conditions of temperature and humidity are met and even a one degree difference in temperature can cause them not to hatch or can cause the chicks that do hatch to be weak! If your thermometer is inaccurate, if the power goes off in your home during incubation, if your incubator is dirty: all these issues are simply beyond our control.
Hatching egg results will vary even if you are experienced, so while our eggs are guaranteed to arrive intact and beautiful, we cannot guarantee your results. Fresh, fertile eggs that have never shipped hatch at an average rate of 80% or so. If they are shipped, that rate drops to an average of 50%, even when they are handled very carefully! No suppliers of hatching eggs can guarantee a hatch rate, and you can't even guarantee a hatch rate when hatching your own eggs.
Remember, those hatch rate percentages are what is AVERAGE (not what is guaranteed). That means some incubations will see a better percentage, and some incubations will (unfortunately) have a worse rate. If you love to hatch eggs and incubate often, you will have a great hatch rate sometimes--and sometimes you will have one that's simply awful.
We want to make absolutely sure that our customers understand the issues with purchasing shipped fertile hatching eggs before they complete an order.
How do the shipping charges work?
Our eggs are always shipped via USPS Priority Mail. Currently, we offer FREE shipping!!
Can I choose which day my eggs will arrive?
Your order may ship anytime during the week, Monday through Saturday, depending on the hens' cooperation. Should there be an issue with your order, we will attempt to contact you.
We are unable to ship hatching eggs to Minnesota or Hawaii due to importing regulations in those states.
Will the post office deliver the eggs to my door?
Shipping labels or written instructions on our hatching egg boxes indicate that the post office should "CALL ON ARRIVAL." This reduces the handling and extremes of temperature the eggs experience en route to you, and can ultimately increase the viability of your eggs. However, very often this information is not seen by the carrier, and eggs are delivered to the physical shipping address on the label anyway.
If it is imperative to you that the eggs not be delivered directly to your shipping address, you can change the ship-to address on your order to be the address of your post office of choice, attn: 'your name'. If you choose to do this, make sure to include a valid phone number so the post office can reach you when the box arrives.
As another option, you might consider calling the post office before your eggs arrive to let them know how you'd like them handled.
If I order an assortment, how will I know which breeds I'll be receiving?
Each egg you receive will have a breed code written on it, and within the package there will be a breed code list, so you can easily identify which breed is which.
How do I place eggs in my incubator?
Depending on the type of incubator you have and whether it has a turner there may be a few variations of how exactly your eggs will go in the incubator. Some turners have the egg sitting like it would in an egg carton, straight up and down. Others require the eggs to be on their side. Regardless of the orientation of the egg, you want to try and have the larger, rounder end facing up and the pointed end facing down. This is because the air cell is located in the larger part of the egg and this where the chick will break through to breathe once it begins hatching and it needs to be oriented the right way or your chick might not be able to hatch.
How often should I turn my eggs and how?
Your eggs should be turned at least three times a day. If you have an egg turner you may be able to set how often it turns your eggs. The reason you turn the eggs is to keep the chick from sticking to one side of the egg.
Turn your eggs until the last few days before they hatch. Most people stop turning about 3 days before the chick should hatch. This is so the chick can get situated in the egg as it prepares to hatch. If you keep turning the egg the baby may not be able to get in position and may not hatch.
How long will it take my eggs to hatch?
It is approximately 21 days for most breeds of chickens. Some birds have longer or shorter hatching times. Seramas are a small bantam breed and generally hatch on day 20, while our larger fowl usually hatch on day 21. The following are typical incubation periods for each bird, plus the optimal temperature and humidity. These are the typical recommendations, you may find for your area of the country and particular breed that you may need to make adjustments to these recommendations.
Serama Chickens
Incubation Days: 17 Days
Temperature: 99.3 to 99.6 (Farenheit)
Incubation Humidity: (%) 40-50
LOCKDOWN PERIOD: Day 17 to Day 21
LOCKDOWN/Hatching Humidity: (%) 65+
Chicken (Larger Chickens)
Incubation Days: 21 Days
Temperature: 99.3 to 99.6 (Farenheit)
Incubation Humidity: (%) 40-50
LOCKDOWN PERIOD: Day 18 to Day 21
LOCKDOWN/Hatching Humidity: (%) 65+
Why is humidity so important?
Humidity may be one of the most important parts of incubating. The humidity can make the difference between a successful hatch and a complete hatching nightmare. Humidity effects the moisture lost during incubation. The egg must lose a certain amount of moisture through the shell wall as it grows. If the egg loses too much moisture, the chick will not be able to hatch because it will be sticky, if the egg doesn’t lose enough moisture the chick can actually drown. Low humidity will also cause the internal membranes to dry out and harden and become like leather, making it impossible for the chick to break through or move around in the shell. The membranes will “shrink wrap” around the chick and the chick will not be able to move and so it won’t be able to pip and will eventually die. This most commonly happens when you are too eager to get the chicks out that have already hatched. When you open the incubator to retrieve some chicks while others are still trying to hatch the humidity level drops tremendously causing the remaining chicks to become shrink wrapped and many will die. So be patient and don’t open that incubator until the last chick has hatched! PLS NOTE THE DIFFERENCE IN HUMIDITY THAT IS REQUIRED WHEN TRANSITIONING FROM THE INCUBATION PERIOD, TO THE HATCHING HUMIDITY FOR THE LAST 3 DAYS OF THE CYCLE (AKA "THE LOCKDOWN PERIOD")
My eggs have not hatched on time. What do I do?
Have some patience! if your eggs have not hatched by Day 21, don't give up! It is possible that despite all your precautions, your eggs were incubated at a temperature that was slightly low... or perhaps your newer eggs hatched first, and your older ones will take a little longer. Wait until Day 23 at the very least, and candle before discarding any eggs that haven't hatched just to make sure it is not alive. We sometimes wait until Day 25!!
My eggs just hatched. What do I do?
When your chicks have hatched, leave them in the incubator to dry off. Their peeping and noise will help encourage other chicks to hatch. It can take four hours or more to dry off, and you don't want them to get chilled. Once they are dry, transfer them quickly to your pre-warmed brooder.
