next RANT... getting crankey here lol

yes hello i wold like to buy some hatching eggs from your birds, i am so excited to get these birds ect ect..

so i sell them the eggs, pack them , ship them or meet the people somewhere to give them their hatching eggs... so they can enjoy the experiance of hatching their own babies
3 weeks later i get a email...

yes hello , i am concerned with my eggs didnt hatch i have 2 that have hatched but one looks sick, whats wrong? you were supposed to send me fertile eggs! and that means they should ALL hatch! i am angry i want you to send me more free eggs i have used my 100 year old little giant incubator for the last 10 years, never had problems, i have the temp set at 40 degrees, and the humidity at hatching is 30%, and no i dont turn my eggs....the chicks are dying i have no idea why ,i have a blanket in there for them to stay warm....ect ect....

this is when i usualy blow a fuse and have to go outside for a loooong walk...... there seems to be allot of this you would be suprised, i have had people blaming me and my birds for "they are not absorbing their egg yolks if has to be your birds fault i CANT be the TEMP in my incubator .... NOW you would think if you are going to spend the money to get eggs shipped you would do research on HOW to HATCH them,..... people tend to think i will give them a full refund or send MORE eggs if 100% dont hatch.... when in all reality i often cant get 100% to hatch at home...
some days i really wonder WHY i do sell eggs whats the point?? its not exaclly FUN getting these emails, its actually a pain in the butt packing/ wrapping, delivering ect..... all for them to complain about something anyways. i just had to vent really not having a good year and contiplating shutting down sales for the rest of the year, to much going on here i dont need the extra stress as there has been enuff already

I think a lot of people don't understand that hatching in an incubator is an art as well as a science. I wrecked a lot of hatches before I got it right. I promise, I never blamed the eggs or the supplier!! I don't think it is wrong to try something and fail, but to blame anyone but yourself and your lack of knowledge is just rude. I would be tempted not to ship eggs to newbies. I know that sounds harsh, but if you are new to hatching I think that you want to start with eggs that are not expensive and not shipped. Everyone is new to the hobby at some point, but you should not have to shoulder the blame for the failures. Sorry!

Sorry Triple J.
Those kinds of comments must really take the wind out of your sails.
Even when you know you are doing your best and giving your customers every chance for success, there is so much that you can't control once those eggs leave your farm.
I've said it before and I'll say it again...I admire those of you who choose to sell (and especially ship!) eggs to people. Especially people you dont know personally, and you can't be sure they will know what they are doing.
I had thought about getting into hatching eggs at one point, but quickly decided it would not be for me. For exactly the reasons you mentioned in your post.
Try to focus on the happy customers, Janet and try not to let those one or 2 negative comments get you down and wreck your day .

People suck. Most people don't want to take personal responsibility for the things they may be doing wrong; it's always easier to blame someone else!

I have to say I agree with KathyS, this is why very few people get eggs from me to hatch. I could not deal with it at all!

Oh thank goodness!

Now I realize that any poor hatches I've had in the past were TripleJ's fault. Whew!

I'd attach a slip of paper:

"I have had 90% hatch from eggs taken from these hens with the same rooster in spring 2013. We are confidant in the health and fertility of these eggs. The success of your hatch is up to you. We cannot make any guarantee as to your hatch rate. You start with the best eggs, the rest is up to you.

Our price and the sale of these eggs is based on this understanding".

Actually I'd put this phrase on EVERY email dealing with buyers.

People are hell....I wouldn't blame you if you never sold another egg!

I agree with heda. I have posted that on my website but of course you always get a complainer.

I have also thought about putting an insert in with eggs so they have it in writing. ALso with a disclaimer stating that in agree to purchase these eggs you agree to the terms.

heda gobbler wrote:I'd attach a slip of paper:

"I have had 90% hatch from eggs taken from these hens with the same rooster in spring 2013. We are confidant in the health and fertility of these eggs. The success of your hatch is up to you. We cannot make any guarantee as to your hatch rate. You start with the best eggs, the rest is up to you.

Our price and the sale of these eggs is based on this understanding".

Actually I'd put this phrase on EVERY email dealing with buyers.

People are hell....I wouldn't blame you if you never sold another egg!

Good idea! It is kind of like the phrase I see at the bottom of the ingredient list on a food item. I am allergic to many things. The little phrease is: May contain traces of: (insert allergen here). I call it the anti-lawsuit phrase. See, we warned you, now you can't sue us.

Schipperkesue wrote:

heda gobbler wrote:I'd attach a slip of paper:

"I have had 90% hatch from eggs taken from these hens with the same rooster in spring 2013. We are confidant in the health and fertility of these eggs. The success of your hatch is up to you. We cannot make any guarantee as to your hatch rate. You start with the best eggs, the rest is up to you.

Our price and the sale of these eggs is based on this understanding".

Actually I'd put this phrase on EVERY email dealing with buyers.

People are hell....I wouldn't blame you if you never sold another egg!

Good idea! It is kind of like the phrase I see at the bottom of the ingredient list on a food item. I am allergic to many things. The little phrease is: May contain traces of: (insert allergen here). I call it the anti-lawsuit phrase. See, we warned you, now you can't sue us.

Ba ha ha.. the first thing that came to mind was to insert a slip with that phrase and at the bottom, courtesy of Sue "Warning: This product may contain nuts".

How true it is!

Or use it when they call to complain, "I'm sorry, I would like to deal with you but I'm allergic to nuts."

I agree with Heda, send a little instruction sheet outlining the realities of eggs that have been shipped and the vagaries of incubators.

In fact, all customers should have to fill out an application form. Are these eggs to go under a broody hen in your hen house? Yes? Then these eggs are $20 a dozen.

Are these eggs going in your homebuilt, cardboard and popcorn incubator? Yes? Then this dozen eggs is $100. IT's called a failed chick fee and meant to weed out dumbasses.

Stupid people should pay more.

Might be worth your energy to include a business-card-sized 'quick guide' to hatching, which includes the statement of fertility mentioned above, optimum temps for incubating, humidity range and turning schedule. If they ask what it all means, you know you've got a newby and can refer them to accurate info of some sort. If they don't, you have something to point to if they complain.

You know you can attach noted on hatching, offer free advice, do the hokey-pokey and you would still get people complaining it's all your fault the eggs didn't hatch.

I can't count the number of hatches I've had issues with. The most I spent on hatching eggs was $60 and had only 3 hatch because, though the others were fertile, they went boobs up. It happens.

*Sigh* only thing you could do is sell the eggs with a disclaimer, that while you do your best to sell eggs that are fertile, you cannot guarantee that the eggs will hatch and healthy chicks will emerge. Something along those lines.

I wouldn't attach any instructions on hatching - I don't want to be responsible for someone misreading or doing something so stupid I didn't think to say "don't do THIS". I don't want them e-mailing to say "you didn't tell me I couldn't freeze them first".. etc

All you want to do is sell eggs from the same hens and roosters that you got a great hatch from. You are not giving lessons or telling people the best way to hatch. There is just no way to cover every eventuality on that front. Let's face it, years later we are still discussing the most fool proof way to hatch here.

What they do with those fertile eggs are none of your concern and none of your responsibility. THEY ARE ON THEIR OWN.

thank you everyone you made me feel better , i just have to much going on right now to worry about how other peoples hatches are going...lik eyou say once they leave my farm its out of my control but people cant seem to ge tthat through their heads...i am not mother nature i have no control LOL uno your hilarious LMAO i just about spit up my coffee reading this LMAO i have started to add a tips for sucessfull hatch with my dozens just started that a few ago, but whatever...i am done selling eggs for this year no more, i will only sell to old customers who i know how to incubate sucessfull and will be truthfull with what hatches and not try to get free eggs outa me or money.........i think people think your stupid as well...

I think about what you wrote about someone saying the chicks were dying because they hadn't absorbed their yolk (your fault of course! ) and my guts just twist in pain for those poor chicks, and I think if I could help educate someone so this might not happen, I would do it. Now I don't sell eggs, so I don't really know what you're going through, but if a little education might avert some suffering, I think I'd do it.

i tried over, over again, to the point of i am not knowing what else to say about it other than yes its my fault and my birds fault, I give up lol

I WOULD LIKE OT MAKE A CANADA WIDE APPOLOGY TO EVERYONE OUT THERE IF YOU HAVE A CRAPPY HATCH.............ITS MY FAULT!! as fowler says