08/16/2026
☀️🐣SUMMER HEAT & SHIPPED HATCHING EGGS🐣☀️
I thought this might be a good time for a little educational post because this Texas summer heat has been absolutely BRUTAL, and shipped hatching eggs can face some unique challenges when temperatures start climbing. 🥵
I have received hatching eggs from several different reputable breeders since the beginning of summer, and nearly every shipment has had at least one egg, sometimes more, eventually turn rotten and begin oozing in the incubator. I actually had another one happen today. 🤢
So what is going on?
One thing we sometimes forget is that an egg does not know whether it is sitting underneath a hen, inside an incubator, or riding around in a hot mail truck. If a fertile egg is exposed to sufficiently warm temperatures for long enough, embryonic development can begin. Now imagine that egg spending several hours in a blazing hot delivery truck or warehouse. It warms up enough for development to begin. Later that evening, temperatures drop or the package moves into an air conditioned facility and the egg cools significantly. That start and stop can result in very early embryonic death.
The egg may look completely normal when it arrives. There may be no smell, leaking, or obvious indication that anything has happened inside. Then we follow the normal recommendation for shipped eggs and allow them to rest for 12 to 24 hours before setting them. Resting shipped eggs can be beneficial for disturbed air cells, but during extreme summer temperatures, I personally think it is worth considering what those eggs may have already experienced before they reached your doorstep and not resting them. In this heat I place them in the incubator immediately upon arrival without being turned.
If development began somewhere along the journey and then stopped, that egg may already contain a very early embryo that has died. Once we place it into a warm, humid incubator, decomposition and bacterial growth can progress quickly. That is when you can suddenly find an egg sweating, weeping, oozing, smelling HORRIBLE, or, worst case scenario, exploding inside your incubator. 🤢💣
This is also why I completely understand breeders who choose NOT to ship hatching eggs during the hottest months of the year. I do not blame them one bit. There are so many variables involved in shipping eggs that neither the breeder nor the recipient can control, and extreme summer temperatures add another huge variable. A rotten egg in a summer shipment does not automatically mean the egg was old, dirty, or bad when it left the breeder. Sometimes Mother Nature simply tried to start the incubation process somewhere between Point A and Point B. 🥵📦
My biggest advice during these brutally hot months is to pay EXTRA attention to shipped eggs once they are in your incubator. Candle regularly, use your nose, and investigate anything that suddenly looks suspicious. If an egg begins weeping, oozing, or smelling foul, remove it carefully before you end up with an incubator gr***de and a cleanup you will NEVER forget. 😂🤢
Summer hatching can absolutely be done, but understanding what extreme temperatures can do to fertile eggs helps us make better decisions and have realistic expectations when those precious packages travel through the heat. ❤️🐣
