Storage of Eggs for Incubation.

[Ontario Chick]

I know you have all done some unorthodox things and the eggs stil hatched, this is just the bare bone basics to give the eggs best chance to become chicks
Ideal storage temperature is between 10-15C , definitely bellow 20C when some development may start.
Store eggs pointy end down in egg cartons, and if the eggs are going to be stored longer then 6 days, start tilting alternate ends of carton once a day to keep the eggs yolks from sticking to shell.
The hatch ability is reduced if eggs are stored longer then 14 days.
Sorry this is the best picture I have, eggs are on the basement floor left side of picture, it seems to provide the perfect temperature.

I personally start turning eggs second day, because I wouldn't know which eggs were 6 days old

[kenya]

I store mine in the basement as well but I store them pointy end up on the advice of an old veteran who he says when stored like this he doesn't even worry about turning.Has worked well for me but I still turn them once a day.

[Home Grown Poultry]

I store my eggs in egg cartons inside a freezer ziplock bag. I do this to prevent evaporation and keep the air sac from expanding. This allows me to keep hatching eggs a bit longer until I have enough to fire up the incubator. my incubator can hold 90 chicken eggs but I want at least 30 before I start it up. I dont have a basement so I keep the eggs in the most cool stable place I have and since the temps are not going below zero I keep them in the insulated garage right now.

In the past I would keep them in an egg turner but since I stole the motor from it for the incubator I've been turning them by flipping the egg cartons right over. carefully, over easy. Now if my first hatch dosent work out as planned I will turn them from side to side. However my last few hatches from last year were turned by flipping the cartons with no noticeable ill effect.

I want to build a hatching egg storage fridge so the eggs will always be at the optimum temperature and turned properly.

I use different colored sharpies for each breeding pen. chicks will be toe punched once hatched and banded accordingly once I decide which ones will be kept.

HAPPY HATCHING!!!

[baronrenfrew]

A sharpie? Ink? Dude that's bad from what I know, i use a pencil or pencil crayon. The ink gets absorbed into the egg and can poison the egg.

[Home Grown Poultry]

no its a myth... Mark them with anything that will stay on and be legible when you need to read it... sharpies dont bleed through the first layer of shell at all. check the link below... hatching egg storage where i posted some proof. but you know I think i will just do my own experiment and color a bunch of eggs solid with a sharpie.

[Home Grown Poultry]

I made this a sticky OC! Your wisdom will always be at the top!

[downhomeroots]

I store my eggs in the basement and I store them in an egg turner. I have a spare in case one stops working in either incubator. So I use that when I start collecting. Before that I would place something under the eggs cartons and tip one side in the morning and tip to the other side at night.

[Poultryprincess]

FABULOUS ADVICE ~ Thanx to Everyone!!!!

[KimChick]

I have just started collecting eggs for hatching. Right now, I have my 6 eggs in an egg flat, on a hardwood floor, beside a cold air return; it's 60F, 50% Humidity. If I put them in the basement, it will be at 48F and 50% Humidity.
Which is best?

[Ontario Chick]

It depends on how long you are planning to save them, I personally would go with the basement option, just in case it takes longer then you think to gather what you want.
Not too sure about the cold air return, if it creates draft, the eggs might be loosing humidity too fast.