# storage of eggs waiting for incubator



## tegaily

I'm just a newbie, so sorry for this question, but where do you keep fertilized eggs until you get enough to put into incubator and for how long?

Lynn


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## Jeremysbrinkman

Fertile eggs are only good for about 10 days. Keep them somewhere the tempeture does no fluctuate. In the 50-65 degree range


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## MommaHen72

tegaily I have the same question. 40s outside. 70s inside. The only thing I could think of was ziploc bags in water but there has to be a better way. ???


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## BuckeyeChickens

tegaily said:


> I'm just a newbie, so sorry for this question, but where do you keep fertilized eggs until you get enough to put into incubator and for how long?
> 
> Lynn


Personally, I keep mine in egg cartons on my unfinished basement floor (about 55F)....if i intend to keep them longer than 7 days i make sure and turn them everyday! By turning them and keeping them in a cool place you can keep them for 2 or more weeks but your hatch rate drops significantly after 14 days....i've had 50% hatches after keeping eggs as long as 30 days.

Some folks keep hatching eggs in a refrigerated wine cooler that can be adjusted to 40-45F, if I had one laying around I'd consider it as a viable option! NEVER put them in a normal refrigerator unless you know it's temp can be adjusted about 40F....research has shown eggs exposed to cold temps are not likely to hatch.


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## LICHICK28

I keep mine in a cool room 50-60 * in a egg carton pointy side down. I tilt the carton from one side to other just a tiny bit every day until enough eggs are saved. I dont go over saving more than 9 days


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## twentynine

I keep mine in my shop with AC/heat set at 65* sitting on a spare egg turner.


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## fuzziebutt

And absolutely do not wash them!!!!


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## kitz

after storing these eggs for lets say a week then put in the bator will they all hatch around the same time?


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## kitz

oh yeah how long does it take to hatch


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## eqstrnathlete

I keep mine in my bedroom, which is about 69*. I have kept them as long as 30 days and had an 80% hatch rate. It takes 21 days for chickens to hatch. They will usually pip the air sack around day 19-20.


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## SilkieBoy

So can I safely store silkie eggs for the first egg it eill12 days old when I put it into the incubator !! I am turning then several times a day and I am keep them cool!


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## SilkieBoy

Bump? How long can silkie eggs be stores for? 1 week or 2 weeks?


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## chas84

Best to store eggs for no longer than a week, if you keep them at 15 to 20 degrees celsius you could got for two weeks, but mark the eggs with a pencil and monitor if the older ones hatch or not.


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