# can u really keep eggs alive?



## dingweding (Jun 2, 2012)

I was told if keep eggs in refregiator, as long as egg never been hatched before, and leave the egg with big end up, small end down, as the big end is for air breathing... then you can keep the eggs alive for quite a few weeks.


I tried it when one of my pair laid egg again, the parent already sit on the first egg for 2 days, but the 2nd egg just laid... I took the eggs and left them in refregiator for a week, gave to another pair... 20 days later. the eggs turns out like dark water inside... I am sure it is fetile eggs, but the eggs just died.

so how can you keep the eggs alive? it is very useful sometimes you want to swap eggs for the forst parents..


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## spirit wings (Mar 29, 2008)

Yes you can hold eggs for a period of time. I would not chill them, but hold them in a cool room or at room temperature like 50 to 78 degrees, and keep them as you said with the small end down and turn them a few times a day, when a foster pair/hen has layed their second egg then you can exchange their eggs for the ones you are holding. Now this can only be done if NO incubation has started . Otherwise the growing embryo or start of the embryo will die. So the eggs you want to hatch and put under a foster pair need to be retrieved right when it is layed BEFORE the pair sit on it/them...have to especially be watchful on hen's who sit the first egg.... You don't want her to do that,because the warmth starts the growing process and if taken off heat it dies, so you want just layed eggs that you can keep suspended untill you have a foster pair ready. Fertility (if fertile), goes down after a week of holding, but I would try eggs even after two weeks of holding, you never know they still could grow and hatch....or also, if for example you have two pair and you want to hatch young from only one pair,but don't want them raising more squabs because they need a break, if the foster pair lays eggs within 4 days of each other you can put the eggs from the pair you want young from and put them under the foster pair, and then give the other pair fake eggs to sit to give them their break,...but also, foster pairs need breaks too, so I would do your breeding at a certain time Of the year and give everyone a break the rest of the year.


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## dingweding (Jun 2, 2012)

May I ask why the egg should be turned? and u mean turn it upside down or just turn in around? I do not know why my experiment failed, if the first egg died before the original parent already sit on it, the 2nd one should be fine, but none of them hatched.

I know unfertile eggs should turn to clear water with yolk etc... but these two eggs turn to dark waterish...


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## spirit wings (Mar 29, 2008)

dingweding said:


> May I ask why the egg should be turned? and u mean turn it upside down or just turn in around? I do not know why my experiment failed, if the first egg died before the original parent already sit on it, the 2nd one should be fine, but none of them hatched.
> 
> I know unfertile eggs should turn to clear water with yolk etc... but these two eggs turn to dark waterish...[/
> 
> Bacteria was introduced into the eggs at some point, it sounds to me the development may have already started and the beginning embryos died causing rotten eggs. The birds must of sat on the eggs.


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## sreeshs (Aug 16, 2009)

The eggs need to be turned around (Not upside down) otherwise the content will start sticking to a permanent spot on the shell and eventually get damaged. In the nest it is done naturally by the pigeons.

I am confused on the orientatio, what I thought was that the pointed end should be upwards!

An infertile egg will be clear with yolk and white after incubation.
At any point there is an infection, the egg will be turning black and smelly by the end of incubation. Pick the eggs with clean hands, if you can use a clean paper towel while handling the eggs, well and good


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## whytwings (Feb 12, 2011)

I agree with Spirit Wings ....I certainly wouldn't refridgerate them .
I once confused my eggs taken from the loft with boiled eggs .....some of these eggs had been sitting outside for a week or so ......accidently some eggs were returned to the loft as dummy eggs *they all hatched*.

As a test case ....I was at my local feed store , they had a pure white pair of pigeons, but they were sold and had laid an egg ....I asked if I could have it and they gave it to me. I put it under a surrogate pair and they abandoned it .

The egg was stone cold and had been abandoned for some hours . I transferred it to another pair 1/2 way thru incubation ......the egg did continue to incubate , the day after it should have hatched I checked on it and tragiclly it was trampled while breaking out the shell by a pair determined to evict the tenants from their nest , point is is did continue to incubate to a chick at hatching stage .


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## spirit wings (Mar 29, 2008)

sreeshs said:


> The eggs need to be turned around (Not upside down) otherwise the content will start sticking to a permanent spot on the shell and eventually get damaged. In the nest it is done naturally by the pigeons.
> 
> I am confused on the orientatio, what I thought was that the pointed end should be upwards!
> 
> ...


Hi sreeshs, the air sac is on the larger end of the egg the more rounded part, so that is the end that should be up if holding them for a long period it may not be essential but that is why you keep than end upwards, that is the end they hatch out from also.


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## nancybird (Jan 30, 2011)

spirit wings is right.


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## tjc1 (Aug 22, 2012)

I have never heard of pigeon eggs being kept. only because of the care the need after birth. But I have received button quail eggs through the mail and hatched them in incubators. I also know that chicken eggs can be received through the mail and hatched. But both of them eat by themselves after birth. They actually can stay alive for weeks in their eggs being kept at a cool temperature and then being incubated to hatch. With good foster parents and following the directions of the other members you probably can have good results.


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## mikeyg (Jul 11, 2012)

A friend of mine has bought eggs from other people and brought them back to his breeding loft to hatch. I never asked him what stage they were at? Can you relocate an egg at anytime?


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## whytwings (Feb 12, 2011)

mikeyg said:


> A friend of mine has bought eggs from other people and brought them back to his breeding loft to hatch. I never asked him what stage they were at? Can you relocate an egg at anytime?


I would say YES ........but to the foster parents incubating the switched egg , they will need to have been laying and in line with the hatching date of the switched egg to have available crop milk to feed the hatchling .

You just need to know how long pairs have been sitting and tie this in with the hatching of the egg in 18 days . It's pointless putting an egg about to hatch under a pair that have been sitting for 7 days .


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## tjc1 (Aug 22, 2012)

whytwings said:


> I would say YES ........but to the foster parents incubating the switched egg , they will need to have been laying and in line with the hatching date of the switched egg to have available crop milk to feed the hatchling .
> 
> You just need to know how long pairs have been sitting and tie this in with the hatching of the egg in 18 days . It's pointless putting an egg about to hatch under a pair that have been sitting for 7 days .


Makes a lot of sense to have them in line with other. Unless somebody has a lot of time to raise the babies themselves you need mom and dad ready to take over to raise the babies.


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## nancybird (Jan 30, 2011)

Yes you would want mom and dad bird to raise them.They need good bird parents.


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## MaryOfExeter (Sep 30, 2007)

You can keep eggs as long as they have not be incubated. But they quickly lose their viability. So it is best not to keep them for more than a few days if you want the best chance for hatching. Also, I would not put them in the fridge. It draws the moisture out of the eggs. Keeping them in a cool place or room temp, either one is fine. You just don't want them freezing or getting warm enough to start incubation.


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## hasseian_313 (Oct 31, 2009)

yah it works i know ppl who bought eggs from over seas ive done this with chickens it works


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## sreeshs (Aug 16, 2009)

MaryOfExeter said:


> You can keep eggs as long as they have not be incubated. But they quickly lose their viability. So it is best not to keep them for more than a few days if you want the best chance for hatching. Also, I would not put them in the fridge. It draws the moisture out of the eggs. Keeping them in a cool place or room temp, either one is fine. You just don't want them freezing or getting warm enough to start incubation.


I remember reading in some article that the hatching percentage drastically reduces after 10 days or so.


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## spirit wings (Mar 29, 2008)

mikeyg said:


> A friend of mine has bought eggs from other people and brought them back to his breeding loft to hatch. I never asked him what stage they were at? Can you relocate an egg at anytime?


both pairs need to of layed their eggs within say 5 days of each other, if you put just layed eggs under a pair that have already been sitting for say 10 days they will give up too soon on the eggs for them to hatch them, if you give a pair that just layed their own eggs and give them older incubated eggs then the babies will hatch too soon and the bird may not beable to feed them..so yes one should try to coincide the two. that is only if you are doing a direct switch out and not holding eggs.

holding eggs till a foster pair is ready is deleying the switch by getting the fresh layed eggs and keeping them suspended for a time...it can only be done if NOT INCUBATED.. the egg/s need to be like the chicken egg you eat for breakfast..just a yolk.. when you give the eggs to the foster pair and they sit the eggs you were holding .... life begins.. if fertile of course.


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