Shipping something fragile like hatching eggs always has an inherent risk of internal damage, but summer heat adds an extra layer of concern. Based on our experience, eggs shipped during July and August tend to have more frequent issues with viability. We want to be up front with you about the risks and what we do to mitigate the risks as much as possible so you know what you’re getting into. Please consider whether you’re willing to accept these risks before purchasing. Would you buy chocolate bars in the summer if they are at risk of melting? If you really want the chocolate bars (or hatching eggs in our case), we’re always here for you, but we are happy to reschedule if you’d rather wait.
Yes, we live in the Valley of the Sun and 110+ °F days are pretty normal during the summer. However, all of our quail are inside a climate controlled barn that never gets above 85 °F even on the hottest day. We also collect eggs regularly to make sure we are only sending fresh eggs. We ship our eggs during the coolest part of the day. We actually have a special business arrangement with our USPS distribution center to drop off our packages at the airport at night during the coolest part of the day. This means our packages get out of Phoenix quickly to reduce heat damage, but what happens after that is up to your local USPS personnel.
The increased risk lies in the shipping process. All USPS sorting facilities are climate controlled, but their trucks are not. If you live near your region’s sorting and distribution centers, you may not see much difference in the summer. If you live in a warm region and your eggs need to travel several hours on a truck, you’re likely to see lower viability rates that will look like unfertilized eggs. You may also want to consider entering your local post office address as your shipping address to make sure your eggs are held for pickup instead of being left in a hot mailbox or on a sunny porch.
As always, we incubate and hatch all the same eggs that we sell to confirm fertilization rates and viability. We do this year round to make sure our hatching eggs are performing as expected, and it also confirms that the summer heat doesn’t affect our birds or their eggs one bit.
Feel free to reach out at info@swgamebirds.com if you have any other questions. Happy Hatching!
