egg storage

[Redhorse]

Have read several different oppinions on this topic, just wanted to get a good thread on the new site here.

What temp?


How long?


I have been storing my eggs in the basement where there is a cool constant temp...never checked the temp to see what it was. I think I'll do that today.

My first batch of eggs I put in the bator 3 weeks from the time they started laying (figuring the first few would be infertile anyway). The second and third batches went in at around 12 -14 days and the fourth about 7 days.

[Jerms]

I, too, have a question about egg storage.  I have some egg-packing cartons in which I received my eggs last summer and that's what I'm storing my eggs in that my hens have been laying.  I've been flipping them over a couple of times per day, but will it hurt them to be stored pointed end up part of the time or should they always be on their side?

[stewaw]

50-60 degrees F is ideal.  I found a small mini-fridge that with the temp set as low/warm as it will allow maintains a temp of 52-54 degrees. I just set a turner in it and add eggs then set them out for the night to get back to room temp and put them the incubator.  Most kitchen/house refrigerators are set much lower and get too cold to store hatching eggs.  
Fertility/hatchability drops a little after 10-12 days of storage but I've hatched out eggs stored for 18 days with an acceptable hatch level.

David

[Royal Flush Game Birds]

I had been wondering also and decided to go to home depot.I bought a wine cooler thats about 4.5 cubic feet which has 8 trays in it.It will hold about a 1000 eggs in the quail egg trays offered by GQF.I set my temp at 52 degrees. It cost about $200.00 but I think in the long run it will be worth it.When the birds are not laying it will be unplugged so lit should last a long time.It has a see thru black tinted door with a light in it see the temp guage I put in it.

[quailacres]

In my experience hatchability in quail is reduced after about seven days of storage. I agree pretty much with Stewaw on storage temperature, although 60 degrees is what I have used and what is generally recommended in a lot of the literature. You want to make sure temperature doesn't get so warm as to have the embryos start developing which is not good in the storage stage! The temperature at which the embryo starts developing was in one of the articles in the last Gazette. But I can't remember right now what it was and don't have a magazine handy with me. You might also keep in mind that research has shown that relative humidity of upwards of 70% or so during storage is desirable. This is something that large producers pay a lot of attention to, but smaller breeders often don't. More is involved in setting up the necessary environment but it can pay off with better hatches.