Breeding Chickens: Egg Storage

The collection and proper storage of your chickens eggs for artificial hatching will determine your success rate when incubation is complete.

Eggs must be correctly stored and collected before being placed in the incubator. As the average chicken lays one egg per day at best, you will have to store the eggs for a period of time before setting them for hatching.

Ideally you should collect the eggs every day as they are laid and place them in a cardboard egg tray. You can purchase these at a poultry suppliers or pet store or just keep some old egg boxes from shop bought eggs.

The eggs should be placed in the tray with the pointed end facing downwards and stored in the shade where they will not be exposed to extremes of temperature due to sunlight or other heat sources.
Eggs can be stored horizontally, however, this may result in a lower yield and they will also need to be turned 180° twice a day.

Eggs washed, marked & correctly stored for incubation

Incubation should not begin too early nor should eggs be stored for prolonged periods without being set for incubation. Ideally, incubation of chicken eggs should begin somewhere between 3 and 7 days.
After 7 days the chances of successful hatching drops by the day and after 21 days the chance of hatching will have passed completely.

Prior to setting the eggs they should be carefully washed using a mild disinfectant solution. A household disinfectant diluted in warm water is perfectly safe although some breeders prefer to use a commercially available steralising fluid to clean the eggs. When cleaning heavily soiled eggs, don't be tempted to scrub the eggs or use an abrasive cloth or sponge. Scrubbing too hard will remove the protective film known as the 'bloom' and may allow bacteria to penetrate the shell more easily.
Just dipping the egg in the cleaning solution and using your fingers to remove mud or dirt should be perfectly adequate.

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