egg saving,how long??

[eye1der]

how long will saved fertile eggs be viable and what is the correct way to save them,i presume room temperature is correct, do i turn them?

[MaureenHall]

I'm not absolutely sure, but Hilary or Corax will be able to help you. I think I've read somewhere that you should keep them in a cool place (not the fridge), pointy end down for up to a week. Then put them at a slight angle and bring them back up to room temperature before putting them in the incubator or under a hen

[RichmondHens]

Hatchability decreases with each passing day, and after 7 days they will not be worth incubating. I store mine at room temperature, point down but give them a small turn once or twice a day to stop the contents sticking to the shell and generally try and set them within 2 days of being laid.

[Hilary B]

A hen l;iving a semi-wild life will lay one egg a day (approx) until she has a clutch, then she sits. Typically that ould mean the oldest egg might be 9-10 days (often less, occasionally more), but because she chose the conditions, they will probably be the best her instincts can achieve.
I've come across advice to the effect of laying them flat and 'turning' them daily (in the same way you would in the incubator) but we always did the 'pointy end down' version. 'Room temp' varies so much (especially at this time of year) and eggs keep longest (for any purpose) at definitely cool temps, but as Maureen says, not as cool as the fridge, in fact the temperature that you might expect in a shaded part of the garden, (which is where the hen would prefer to nest).

[eye1der]

common sence should have told me that but its always good to ask if your not sure, im storing them in my cellar and in the shed on the lottie, final 6 eggs arriving tomorrow so they will all be going on that evening..thanks all for the info...

[MaureenHall]

Hope the ones in the shed don't get too hot in there, it's been a hot weekend here!

[Snadger]

Here's a question within a question then. If a hen had her own way how many eggs would SHE try to incubate do you think?

[RichmondHens]

Well Snadge, I had a LS go broody back in January (!!!! mad bird). She laid away and I discovered her sitting hidden in a bunch of dried grass underneath an oak tree. She was sitting on 21 eggs! However, due to a combination of the bad weather and the fact that 21 was far too many to cover properly, nothing at all hatched.

[MaureenHall]

I reckon 5 or 6. That way she'd be able to cover them comfortably, turn them easily, and be able to keep an eye on them all when they hatch

[Hilary B]

Here's a question within a question then. If a hen had her own way how many eggs would SHE try to incubate do you think?

How long is a piece of string? I have heard of hens vanishing, and returning with 10 chicks (belonged to a neighbour) but it is quite possible they weren't all hers, and the neighbour never did find the nest to know how many had failed to hatch.
I found a nest once with 30 eggs in it. Not sure how many hens had been laying there, but they would never have hatched, because I didn't have a cockerel at the time (and I don't think any of them had tried to 'sit' anyway). None of the eggs was unusable, although a few were 'borderline' and went to the dog!