Impact of Cold Storage and Temperature on Chicken Egg Hatch Rates

[ChickenChick]

I've had poor hatch rates in the winter too, though I store my eggs in a cool basement, not the fridge. I noticed that the humidity inside the incubator also plays a role. If the air is too dry, the eggs don't develop properly. Maybe the cold plus low humidity in the incubator could be causing the higher mortality rates.

[EggsAndGiggles]

That's interesting. I've always been cautious about storing eggs in the fridge, and your post just confirmed my thoughts. I find that storing eggs at room temperature until incubation helps prevent developmental issues. Also, I'd recommend checking humidity levels as well,sometimes it can affect hatch rates, especially in colder weather.

[GabbyGizzard]

Ive been experimenting with hatching chicken eggs to understand what can be done to them and still get successful hatches. Recently, I encountered a puzzling issue where I had a 25% mortality rate in late-term embryos after water candling, something I hadnt experienced before. However, I saw the same results in two subsequent hatches, even though I didnt water candle and was frequently turning the eggs. The common factor was the cold weather.

For context, my previous experiments with fridge eggs yielded excellent development, but I didnt take them all the way to hatching. However, the last three hatchesover 50 eggs in totalhappened during the winter months (December/January), with ambient temperatures in the pens around 32F. I collected eggs every couple of days, and although I didnt freeze them, they were stored in cold conditions for 48-72 hours.

Normally, I have less than 10% late embryonic death or failure to hatch, but in these colder conditions, the hatch rate dropped to 25-40%. Even though development seemed good, the cold storage appears to have significantly impacted hatch rates.

The main takeaway here is that if youre collecting hatching eggs during freezing or near-freezing temperatures, try to gather them multiple times a day to reduce exposure to the cold. Additionally, avoid storing hatching eggs in the fridge as it seems to reduce hatch rates. If youre hatching eggs from cold or fridge-stored conditions, be prepared for lower hatch rates and consider hatching extra eggs to offset this.

I can definitely relate to the cold affecting hatch rates. I've tried a few different techniques, but the most successful has been warming eggs up gradually before incubation. I try to avoid storing them in the fridge altogether, as I've found that even if they aren't frozen, the cold still impacts their development.

[PoultryPassion]

Wow, 25-40% mortality seems like a significant difference! I've had good luck with my hatching rates, but I make sure to store eggs in a controlled area. If the temperature fluctuates a lot, I try to collect eggs more frequently. Also, I've read that eggs left in the cold for longer periods have less viable embryos. It's definitely a challenge during the winter months.

[FrankJScott]

why not just google it