11/13/2025
This is exactly 💯 correct. Eggs are always a gamble. I try to make sure my eggs are hatching great for me and now ship using express because i truly do want you to get great hatch rates when you buy from me but its out of my control after they leave my hands. This is 99% of the same thing every other breeder will tell you.
Some of the greats never sell their eggs because they don’t want that perfect showbird to end up elsewhere, so I’m truly grateful for those breeders that do share because lets face it, eggs are always the cheaper way to get good lines into your program. But if you’re not ok with the chance of not hatching something or not hatching the perfect bird then save your money and buy chicks or save until you can buy that show winning bird
…but the price goes up and up the longer a breeder has a bird. We do not just run out and buy the cheapest feeds, we add supplements and medicines etc to get our flock where it is. Silkies, god bless them, are some of the most difficult birds to get to adulthood if you don’t know their needs 100%, and certain colors like lavender are even more difficult to get there. Ive been hatching for over 5 years now and still have issues with any eggs that don’t come from my birds. So whether they’re picked up or shipped the hatch rate can be and almost always will be affected at least in some way. I have had great success with Kel Ash eggs— both by being picked up or by having them transported to me. She is honest and a wonderful human!
