Shipping eggs

This is where we need Hillbilly, but I'm thinking that boy went south for the winter, he's been laying low lately.

If you ship eggs this time of year by bus or mail, how do you ensure they do not freeze? Will they take eggs up front with the driver?

I don't ship eggs at this time of year, but I know that some use heat packs like hand warmers.

Hmmm. Heat packs. Interesting.

I don't ship this time of year either, but in the past I have used Styrofoam coolers and heat packs on the outside of all the packing materials to keep the chill off but not so much it starts to incubate the eggs.

I have shipped using heated hand warmers in coolers from the dollar store. Makes packaging more expensive to purchaser but seem to work. Greyhound wont bring them in they are just with the rest. I think if they have hand warmers and are well packaged they do just fine. A few of those warmers heat the whole box really quickly. If its a short journey I would not worry. Five days across the country well............

Just a quick thought about Greyhound. When I have shipped eggs by Greyhound, it goes by bus. The fellow said tthat the cargo goes in the belly of the bus that sits above the transmission and probably nothing would freeze. the transmission generates heat. Just my two cents. I have more comments, but just not into talking this morning My eggs are bubble wrapped big time, bubble wrapped around the inside of the box and I doubt if the eggs would stay cold enough long enough to freeze, I dunno. Thoughts. have an awesome day, CynthiaM.

CynthiaM wrote:Just a quick thought about Greyhound.  When I have shipped eggs by Greyhound, it goes by bus.  The fellow said tthat the cargo goes in the belly of the bus that sits above the transmission and probably nothing would freeze.  the transmission generates heat.  Just my two cents.  I have more comments, but just not into talking this morning :)My eggs are bubble wrapped big time, bubble wrapped around the inside of the box and I doubt if the eggs would stay cold enough long enough to freeze, I dunno.  Thoughts.   have an awesome day, CynthiaM.

Depends on the bus. Ours tend to haul cargo in a trailer behind the bus, where eggs would surely freeze.

Greyhound busses are pusher propelled- the engines in the very back, then the transmission, and then the rear wheels. The luggage compartments are between the rear wheels and the front wheels under the passenger deck. Any heat would come from the passenger deck. A trailer behind would not be a great place for eggs to travel. Locally we are down to one bus north and one bus south per day (oops night). The eggs travel at the coldest part of the 24 hours and the wait time is 7 hours or more after the agent closes shop before the eggs are on their way. Canada Post isn't much better as everything from here except local goes to Vancouver by truck to be sorted.

I like Cynthia's idea of bubble wrap, since air is a good insulator.

Rosewood, you bring up a point I (ashamed) had not considered. I have no idea what route these eggs will take and how long they may sit in limbo, COLD limbo, waiting for their next ride. Before I ship any eggs this time of year, that is definitely something that will affect if I do or don't.

uno wrote:

Before I ship any eggs this time of year, that is definitely something that will affect if I do or don't.

Shipping eggs, what breed do you have?

Just mutts.

But I have some weird, unexplained genetic floating around my flock that results in all black birds about 25% of the time. Black feathers, black eyes and black skin. Although I have been noticing that some of them get reddish head gear as they age, but their skin remains a dusky blue colour. I do not know if their flesh is black although I had a friend butcher some surplus roos and he threw them away because he said their flesh was a weird black colour. He thought there was something wrong with them. I have never eaten one myself so no idea if the black goes into the flesh and bone.

Maybe I should be charging a premium for this mystery genetic? RIght now I have a big rooster with white/cream feathers and black skin. I have not had a white bird in my flock for year and years, I have NO idea where he came from! HE was silver when he hatched.

Damn! Now I want to plug in the incubator!

Fun mutts.