My first batch of “barnyard mix”, blue & green eggs, are in the incubator.

It’s day four, so I candled the eggs. Six of about 15 are definitely fertile and developing. The rest are … questionable. Some are more questionable than others. There were a few cold nights/days during the time I was collecting those eggs, so I’m not surprised if the eggs end up bad. Still, it could just be the shells are thicker, and obscuring. I don’t think so, but it’s been long enough since I candled an egg that I don’t want to run the risk of tossing a good egg.

Earlier in the week, I won an auction for Black Copper Marans eggs. The breeder is going for proposed SOP, and dark-dark eggs. Today, the eggs arrived a day later than scheduled, but unbroken, despite the post office’s best efforts.

Thankfully, working with professionals has its benefits. The $20 shipping/handling charge was well spent — double boxed, double padded, with egg-shaped foam. The exterior box was broken and taped back up. When the local office called to tell me they had arrived, the lady was like “it says hatching eggs, and the box is torn, so maybe they already tried to hatch?” … That’s not how this works. That’s not how ANY of this works. But she sounded confused, so I just glossed over it. I did check the box while at the counter before I left, in case I had to file for insurance claim.

The eggs are currently resting from their harrowing journey. They will join the compatriots already in the incubator tomorrow or Monday. From there, hopefully I will get a decent hatch. Given my local source for the breed fell through on the “started pullets” I ordered (but had not yet paid for), I’m depending on the hatching eggs for actual pullets. I assume that breeder oversold or under-hatched, because there’s been absolute silence from them. That’s why I hadn’t paid them already. Paying upfront for commercial hatchery chicks, sure. From anyone else? When shipping or pick up happens.