09/30/2026
This!!!! People really need to educate themselves before purchasing hatching eggs.
‼️ WE GOTTA HAVE A CHIT CHAT‼️
I’m going to say this as kindly and educationally as I can because I am so tired of seeing and hearing complaints about other breeders in regards to “fertility” and hatch rates with shipped eggs.
First and foremost:
If a shipped egg doesn’t develop, that does NOT automatically mean it wasn’t fertile.
There is a very important distinction between fertility, development, and hatchability — and those terms are being used interchangeably far too often.
Shipping can affect an egg in many ways. Rough handling, temperature fluctuations, vibration, delays, and damage to the air cell can all impact an embryo’s ability to develop properly. A compromised or detached air cell can make incubation much more difficult, even when the egg was perfectly fertile when it left the breeder.
And then there’s the reality that shipping is stressful on eggs. An egg can be fertile and still fail to develop after the journey. That does not suddenly make the egg “infertile.”
So please, STOP saying “X amount of eggs were not fertile” simply because X amount didn’t develop or didn’t hatch.
No.
You can accurately say:
“X amount of eggs did not develop.”
or
“X amount of eggs did not hatch.”
Those statements are very different from:
“X amount of eggs were not fertile.”
And that distinction matters — especially to breeders who actually track and test fertility.
If a breeder consistently has fertile eggs developing successfully in their own incubators, but a portion of those eggs fail after being shipped, it is not reasonable to automatically conclude that the breeder sent infertile eggs.
And while we’re here…
Please stop asking breeders for refunds because shipped eggs didn’t have a 100% hatch rate.
Honestly, even asking for a refund because 50% didn’t hatch is not reasonable simply because you purchased shipped hatching eggs.
Shipping eggs is a gamble.
The breeder can do everything right. The eggs can leave fertile and healthy. They can be packed properly, shipped promptly, and handled carefully — and once those eggs leave the breeder’s hands, there are factors outside of their control.
That is part of the risk you accept when purchasing shipped eggs.
This isn’t meant to be rude or dismissive toward anyone who has had a disappointing hatch. It is disappointing. We all want to candle those eggs, see development, and eventually watch babies hatch.
But disappointment does not automatically equal breeder error, and a failed hatch does not automatically equal infertility.
Let’s use the right terminology, understand what we’re actually measuring, and give breeders credit for the things that are within their control.
Fertility ≠ development ≠ hatch rate.
And with shipped eggs, those differences matter.
