Fertile Egg Sales 2023

Our 2023 Fertile Egg Season will be opening soon!

PLEASE CALL BACK TO CHECK FOR UPDATES - WE EXPECT OUR SEASON TO OPEN MID TO LATE SEPTEMBER.  ORDERING WILL BE AVAILABLE FROM THIS PAGE ONCE WE OPEN THE SEASON (no waiting list is currently being taken) 

We will be offering the following, once our season is open (THEY WILL BE MARKED AS AVAILABLE):

MARANS: $100 per dozen (plus Shipping and Handling if required) CURRENTLY UNAVAILABLE

Our Marans fertile eggs being offered this year will be a combination of our pens (no indiviual pens available) The pens consist of A) Blue Copper (M) x Blue Copper (F) and B) Blue Copper (M)  x Black Copper (F) - Limited amounts will be available only 

CLICK HERE to view our birds and information about this breed

__________________________________________________

SILKIES: $75 per dozen (plus Shipping and Handling if required)

CURRENTLY UNAVAILABLE

Our silkie fertile eggs are from a mixed pen of black, blue and splash.  We have both bearded and non bearded in the mixed pen

CLICK HERE to view our birds and information about this breed

___________________________________________________

"LUCKY DIP": Egg Selection: $50 per dozen (plus Shipping and Handling if required) CURRENTLY UNAVAILABLE

Our "Lucky Dip" eggs are a random mix of our fertile eggs available at the time of ordering.  They could be a mix of standard or bantam eggs or both.  Your dozen could be multiple breeds or a couple.  Sold only in dozens (no half dozens available) ideal for the backyarder wishing to hatch some quality birds at a reduced price.

_____________________________________________________

POSTAGE and HANDLING FEES: 

for those wishing their eggs to be posted, the following fees will apply:

1 dozen $35              |           2 dozen $40

for each extra dozen the above fees will apply to third and fourth dozen

_______________________________________________________

We supply quality fertile hatching eggs from our heritage breeds to our customers through breeding season each year, right across Australia. Our 2023 season will be considerably limited and availability on our eggs will be minimised in comparison to previous years.

Orders for eggs will only open after we have fully conducted our fertility checks each year around mid to late September and close sometime around January.  Our opening and closing of the season is determined by our fertility checks, weather patterns and laying and this is why we do not offer a start date to the season until we are satisfied with all of the above.  This page will be updated closer to the season opening with our availability and pricing.  

****PLEASE NOTE: we do NOT offer a waiting list, please revist this page for updates closer to the season opening and to order (updates will be available on this page mid to late September 2023) ***

We have been providing eggs to very happy customers across all states of Australia for many years from our quality breeding flocks, and take great pride in offering a reliable and quality service. 

Once the season is open you will be able to order from this page with our business.  

 HOW AND WHEN CAN I ORDER FERTILE EGGS?

STEP ONE: please read through the below information to get a thorough understanding of how our business offers fertile eggs to our customers.

STEP TWO - REQUESTING YOUR ORDER: Once your selected type of eggs are showing as available from our list above, please contact us to order through the button at the bottom of the page detailing the amount of eggs you require, if they are requiring shipping (or collection from our business) and the type you are wishing to order. You are also welcome to contact our business directly by phoning (03) 62671554 to order by phone. We will require a full credit card payment at time of ordering by phone order.

STEP TWO - CONFIRMING YOUR ORDER : Once we have received your request via email, we will reply to you within 1 -4 business days to offer an estimated time frame on when we could ship your order . We will confirm the amount due for payment via email, and provide you with the information to make your payment. Once payment is received, you will be placed on a waiting list, and orders are processed in order of receipt of payment. IMPORTANT: We only consider your enquiry as a order when payment has been received and cleared. As we are receiving orders on a daily basis, if you have not made payment immediately after contacting us, our originally discussed availability may change considerably based on other orders we are receiving on a daily basis through the peak spring/summer period. Please also understand that sometimes things happen out of our control - our estimated time is exactly that, an estimate.

STEP THREE - PAYMENT CONFIRMATION: To ensure your name goes on our "order list" and we are aware of your payment, please email us with confirmation of your payment including copy of receipt (screenshot) or receipt number and remember to include your mailing address that you wish your eggs to be sent to . Once payment has cleared we will dispatch your eggs as soon as possible/ or at the time discussed in original contact (if you have booked a future date in advance).

STEP FOUR - FINALISATION OF ORDER (SENDING OR COLLECTING YOUR EGGS): Your eggs will be packed with care and sent on the next available date. We ship on Mondays, or collection from our business is Tuesday - Saturdays only and we will confirm when your eggs are ready for collection if collecting from our business. If your eggs require to be posted, we will send you a tracking number for your reference at time of dispatch. Please understand that postage times may vary depending on your location and Australia Posts guidelines.

HAPPY HATCHING!

*Please note, whilst all care is taken, we can not guarantee the hatchability of any eggs due to factors out of our control. We do not refund or replace any eggs. When ordering eggs from us we trust that you have read our information below and you accept the conditions of our postage terms and sale of fertile eggs. We take extreme care in providing our customers with the very best quality in our fertile eggs, but cannot guarantee the hatchability of the eggs due to factors that are out of our control. We do not issue any refunds on any eggs (including pick ups) . Please do not request refunds, or replacements and please do not order eggs from us if you do not accept these terms. *Some Australia Post customers are currently experiencing delays in their postal services and buyers need to be aware that this is out of our control. Our eggs are posted on Mondays and sent with Express Post to minimise transit times. Should there be delays in transit this is out of our control and buyers need to be aware that purchasing needs to be done at own risk.

Notes on pens: It is important to understand genetics of breeding certain colours and breeds to understand what each pen will throw in the way of offspring colours, especially with blue genetics. Where blue an blue birds are bred together, they can throw black, blue and splash offspring. Those birds are then carrying the blue gene for future offspring. This is typical of any blue breeding, and we suggest researching genetics to understand this better. See our notes on breeding blue at the bottom of this page.

Silkies: pen contains a mix of black, blue and splash, bearded and non bearded

Marans A) Blue Copper Pen - Contains Blue Copper Hens and Blue Copper Cockerel - Blue genertics will throw blue, black and splash offspring

Marans B) Blue Copper x Black Copper Pen: Black Copper Hens and Blue Copper Cockerel (can 50% Blue, 50% Black) some dilution on blue can also thow splash 

A Word on Marans Egg Colour: Our Marans pens have the ability to lay very dark eggs through their good gentics (we have only hatched our parent birds from dark egg laying strains). Green feed intake makes a huge difference to the quality and depth of colour of marans eggs, along with genetics of each parent bird. Both our pens can vary between a 4 - 7 on the marans colour chart. We will select the darkest eggs possible eggs for all fertile egg orders, the majority will be between 4-5  but please understand that colour can vary from egg to egg and as all our birds carry dark egg laying gentics, your offspring hatched will follow suit when provided with correct nutrition. At various times of the year and particularly towards the end of the season egg colour can decrease. We particularly notice this heading into the depths of summer when pasture is low and green intake is decreased. please be aware of this when receiving our Marans fertile eggs. We have a large demand on these pens over the breeding season and do our very best to provide all our customers with the very darkest eggs available at the time of ordering. Our birds are not machines, they are live animals and with this comes variations that are out of our control and in the hands of mother nature. 

We understand the demand on all customers wishing to receive the darkest possible eggs from our Marans pens, but rest assured we will provide what we can when we can to the best of our ability.  From the darkest eggs you will also experience the hardest eggs to hatch (see notes below).  Please do not ask "for our darkest possible eggs"! generally all our customers are looking for the darkest possible egg colour.  we only have the ability to choose from the eggs laid on the particular week your order is due to be dispatched and we will choose the darkest eggs from what is available at the time of packing your order.  

HATCHING MARANS - Notes on Hatching:

When hatching Marans eggs it is important to understand the genetics of colour breeding and particularly breeding rare breeds in Australia with small gentic pools. There are often throw back colours, and breeding certain colours together will not necessarily give you the same coloured offspring. We have supplied a colour genetic chart on the bottom of our fertile egg page to show these variables. - for example: breeding blue and blue does not always give you blue! it can give you black, blue or splash!

Please also be aware that when hatching Marans eggs the darkness of the egg colour is almost another layer for chicks to have to pip from and some Marans can hatch up to day 23-24. They are a breed that often require assisting hatch if you do not have a  incubator that has fully integrated humidity control to hatch in (we do not recommend assisting to hatch unless you have experience).  Quite often the darker the egg the harder to hatch.

*Accurate humidity is a must for hatching Marans eggs. It is important to remember that Marans are still very much a rare breed in Australia. They can be difficult to hatch, which in my opinion contributes to being rare.  Generally I have found many a passionate Marans breeders move on from this breed because they ARE often difficult to hatch, and people give up on them. It is important to remember rare breeds are rare for a reason and hatchability is one of many reasons.  Accurate regulated humidity in a QUALITY incubator is required for a successful hatch with Marans. In thirty years of being a poultry breeder, Marans are a true challenge to me, but a worthwhile challenge.   Knowledge comes from experience and everyone wants that ideal darkest egg, the darker the egg pigment, quite often the harder they can be to hatch due to the extra layers of pigmentation and the inner membrane suffocating chicks in incubators not suitable for Marans.  We suggest reading our resources on hatching on our Information Hub for more information regarding detailed hatching information.

What do you get when you purchase fertile eggs from Tassie Bird and Poultry Supplies (T/as Riverbend Farm) ?

Our breeding pens consist of show quality birds that are fed an optimum diet and are allowed to forage naturally along with been fed greens regularly. Diet is a very important factor in providing quality offspring.

Our pens eggs are checked regularly for fertility. If our strict fertility checks are not met, we do not sell the eggs from those pens. When placing an order with us, we collect eggs FRESHLY for the date you require your eggs.

Riverbend Farm is our full time passion and our customers are very important to us, we have been providing fertile eggs to many happy customers for many, many years - we want you to come back to us and share your success with your friends and family!

Our birds are very well cared for and our pens are clean. We breed as close to the current poultry standard as possible. Our breeding is always a work in progress and we are always seeking improvement in our lines. A healthy, strong bird is the first and foremost of our selection criteria, and generally we only breed from mature to older hens who have stood the test of time and are proven breeders of quality chicks. Temperament is also a very important factor for us, and we select our parent birds to be of good personality. This is especially important to ensure quality offspring.

By choosing Riverbend Farm, you can rest assured that the welfare of our birds is paramount. We pride ourselves on a professional set up, with ample run space and the ability to also free range on pasture. They are checked a number of times a day, and provided with a constant supply of fresh clean water and quality feed. We pride ourselves on feeding quality Laucke Showbird Breeder MP, greens daily and our birds are wormed and treated for mite and lice prevention regularly and provided nutritional supplement. Our birds are also protected from the elements with plenty of shade and shelter. They are free to scratch around, dust bathe, lay in the sun and enjoy a happy life in a low stress, comfortable environment.

We have worked very hard for many years and are proud of what we have achieved with the quality and standard of our poultry and we are excited to share them with you in the way of our fertile egg sales.

Egg Fertility:

Egg fertility is determined by many factors. These include, but are not limited to:

· The health and wellbeing of the parent birds the eggs are sourced from

· The diet of the birds that the eggs are sourced from - from birth to breeding

· Successful development of the reproductive organs

· The ratio of hens to roosters in the breeding pen

· Seasonal fluctuations in fertility (this is why most people source eggs in spring)

· Genetics (inbreeding can affect future generations of fertility)

· Egg collection and storage

· Age of egg upon setting / incubation

· Transportation

Egg fertility is pre determined to a certain degree by the genetics of the parent birds and the quality of feed given to them during the laying period. Most responsible poultry breeders test the fertility levels of the eggs from each breeding pen prior to selling eggs, and 80 - 85% is an acceptable level. Some breeds are known to have a slightly lower fertility level and others higher. Rose combed birds are also known to have a lower fertility rate. Breeds that have pigmented eggs (such as Marans, Aruacana, Legbar etc) can also be harder to hatch as the pigment is almost another layer for chicks to hatch from. Correct humidity on hatching is critical for these breeds.

It is normal practice that anyone storing fertile eggs, store them in a cool dark place in clean egg cartons (we use new egg cartons to minimise bacteria and ensure bio security risks). The eggs should be kept in a tilted position and turned twice a day. This is most important as it prevents the egg yolk from sticking to the shell. Eggs should be as fresh as possible upon incubation and with each day that passes, the fertility rate will drop.

Hatchability is a very different thing to fertility. There are many factors that can cause a embryo to not develop. Rough handling, transport handling problems, how a egg has been stored and for how long, incubator fail (temperature or humidity not correct or fluctuations), eggs being porous can also absorb what may be on the handlers hands in the way of chemical (hand creams etc) bacterial and the like, bacteria in incubators, broody hens not being consistent, eggs not being turned sufficiently, the list goes on..... 

How can you tell if the eggs are fertile?

Obviously the pen from which the eggs are sourced should house a fertile rooster. Many people believe that is all that is needed to fertilise the eggs. The reality is that neither you, or the person selling the eggs does not know if each egg is fertile unless checked. There is only two proven ways to ensure that the egg is in fact fertile:

1. Incubating it - a healthy fertile egg will develop (at least partly) into a chick. Breeders have a method to check the growth of a chick in a egg which is called candling. By using a special type of torch in a dark room you are able to see the development of the chick inside the egg over the duration of incubation.

2. Cracking the egg open and looking for the 3 - 4mm embryonic spot - doing this of course will render the egg useless for hatching!

We conduct a series of fertillity checks on all our pens prior to opening our season to ensure all our pens are fertile before offering to our customers.  We do not open our season each year until we are fully satisfied with all our checks.  This includes full cycles of incubation to check embryo development and chick health.

Transportation of fertile eggs for hatching:

You are transporting live genetic material and consideration needs to be given to this. The longer the transportation and jiggling and jarring of the package, the less fertile your eggs will be.

If you are collecting your eggs from a local breeder, please make sure you wrap the carton in a old towel to cushion the jiggling during the car trip home.

The amazing thing of purchasing fertile eggs from breeders across Australia, is the access to breeds and bloodlines that would normally be out of reach.

Buyers need to be aware that posted eggs generally have a lower fertility level due to the handling of the parcel in transit. Just think of the environments they need to go through to get to you: depressurised aircraft cargo bays, cold and heat exposure, often rough handling of the parcel etc

A little bit about eggs that are shipped:

We ship eggs all over Australia, and although we package the eggs with great care and consideration, we cannot ensure the safety of their arrival to you. 

We send the fertile eggs in express post satchels and we take great care in wrapping your eggs carefully and then they are shipped inside polystyrene boxes for extra safety. Generally if you live in the suburbian boundaries these satchels are received overnight. We generally send eggs on a Monday to make sure they are not kept in post offices over weekends etc… just so they get to you as fresh as they possibly can. If you live in a remote area, please check with your postage outlet for an expected arrival time of your eggs, even though we only send eggs via express post, sometimes it is not always overnight. We do not take responsibilities for delays in transit times, or the handling of eggs by Australia Post.

When packing, we always pack each egg with the upmost care, inspecting each egg and we pack them as we would like them to be packed if they were being sent to us. We believe our packing methods provide the best possible chance of ensuring the eggs arrive safe and sound. Our aim is to give you the best possible result.

Due to there being so many factors when eggs are posted which are totally out of our control, we are unable to offer any guarantee or refund.

IT IS IMPORTANT YOU UNDERSTAND THE RISKS INVOLVED. Although we do not wish to discourage you from purchasing fertile eggs, we do want you to be aware of the potential risks. and it is important that you understand the variables that are beyond our control.

You may receive a box of scrambled eggs (although we have never had this happen) or you may hatch each and every one (this has actually happened on a number of ocassions) realistically it will be somewhere in between. Postage can damage eggs, which causes them to not develop at all, sometimes without you even being able to see it from the outside. Often there is confusion when a egg shows no development and the egg is thought to be infertile - that is why we check our eggs from every pen regularly, to ensure optimum fertility.

The bloom is also important to remain on the eggs, so we do not wash them. You may find a little dirt on them here and there, but rest assured, the precious bloom is there.

We do not mark our eggs are FRAGILE. We have heard of many horror stories of packages arriving with imprinted boot marks, or being deliberately damaged in transit when marked fragile.

Once you have received your order:

When receiving your eggs, carefully unwrap them. Take your time, as there are a few layers and different wraps to get through. Let them sit in the carton to settle at room temperature for about 24 hours. If any of the cells have detached, this can help them settle and reattach.

Be certain your incubator is running as per the manufacturers recommendations prior to putting your eggs in. Its also good to lift the lid a couple of times to see that your incubator returns to the correct temperature prior to placing eggs in the incubator. Always handle eggs with clean hands and be aware that as eggs are porous any bacteria, chemicals (or the like) that may be on your hands or surfaces you place the eggs onto can be absorbed into the egg and can hinder development of embryo. All incubators can vary in results and in generally the less expensive ones give poorer results than the better quality ones on the market. All darker pigmented eggs are almost another layer for chicks to pip and zip from so correct humidity is vitally important to successful hatches of these eggs (Marans, welsummer, Araucana and the like). Some Marans can take up to day 24 to hatch. We stock Brinsea quality incubators and you will find more information on incubators on our website.

Customer feedback:

Hi Tassie Bird and Poultry Supplies,

Thanks for safe delivery of healthy eggs. So far only one never developed, one i cant see(under a broody hen) and all others look to be going fine and should have some lovely bcm's soon.

Truly premium, Cheers, Dean 

"Great results from posted eggs! we hatched 8 out of 12 silver laced wyandotte and 9 out of 12 of the lovely blue copper marans we received from you recently! we have never had such great results from posted eggs, coming all the way from Tasmania to Queensland we were thrilled! we will definately purchase again" - Sam