Sheepshape
Herd Master
- Joined
- Oct 19, 2012
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I planned to hatch Ayam Cemani. I bought eggs way back at beginning of August.
I began to get concerned when I learnt that the seller took orders and payment for eggs which had not yet been laid (I thought the proverb was 'Don't count your chickens before they hatch.....Not don't count your eggs before they are laid'). I was informed pretty sharply that " I would be sent an e-mail when my eggs were about to be dispatched, and that there were lots of orders in front of mine." I felt uneasy, but was assured that the eggs would be sent out very fresh, first class post (British postal system whereby item should arrive the following day), would only be sent Monday to Thursday to avoid weekend delays etc etc.
3 weeks went by and I was informed on a Monday that my eggs would be posted the following day, first class......so should have arrived the following day. By Wednesday evening, no show. I e-mailed the seller, who blamed the 'courier' who transported her deliveries to the Post Office....and had posted them 2nd class (usually to be received on the second day, but can be 3-5 days). Seller was a bit stroppy and sent me a refund of the difference between first and second class postage (Was this MY fault?).
Thursday afternoon came around.....eggs arrived in a damaged expanded polystyrene box (eggs intact) and without even a 'fragile' sticker. Looked like they had been bounced around. I put them to incubate after 24 hours letting them settle......7 days on my trusty incubator.....not one showed an embryo.
I'm pretty angry by now. I e-mail the seller who tells me to return the eggs for a refund....but ignores my e-mail asking for her postal address. From Paypal I found a business name and from the postmark an approximate location. With this and Mr Google I managed to cobble together a return address.....and was eventually refunded after tracking the delivery.
As luck would have it, 3 of my hens had gone broody, 2 had hatched eggs, and I've had to take eggs off the third as she abandoned them after a few days (4 good embryos on my incubator). They're not the 'All Black" team I'd hoped for (one little black Naked Neck crept in there although I thought the hens only had Brahma eggs)....but, at least I've got chicks. If all goes well, I'll end up with some 'orphans' to raise in the kitchen, too.
Maybe next year for the Ayam Cemani?
I began to get concerned when I learnt that the seller took orders and payment for eggs which had not yet been laid (I thought the proverb was 'Don't count your chickens before they hatch.....Not don't count your eggs before they are laid'). I was informed pretty sharply that " I would be sent an e-mail when my eggs were about to be dispatched, and that there were lots of orders in front of mine." I felt uneasy, but was assured that the eggs would be sent out very fresh, first class post (British postal system whereby item should arrive the following day), would only be sent Monday to Thursday to avoid weekend delays etc etc.
3 weeks went by and I was informed on a Monday that my eggs would be posted the following day, first class......so should have arrived the following day. By Wednesday evening, no show. I e-mailed the seller, who blamed the 'courier' who transported her deliveries to the Post Office....and had posted them 2nd class (usually to be received on the second day, but can be 3-5 days). Seller was a bit stroppy and sent me a refund of the difference between first and second class postage (Was this MY fault?).
Thursday afternoon came around.....eggs arrived in a damaged expanded polystyrene box (eggs intact) and without even a 'fragile' sticker. Looked like they had been bounced around. I put them to incubate after 24 hours letting them settle......7 days on my trusty incubator.....not one showed an embryo.
I'm pretty angry by now. I e-mail the seller who tells me to return the eggs for a refund....but ignores my e-mail asking for her postal address. From Paypal I found a business name and from the postmark an approximate location. With this and Mr Google I managed to cobble together a return address.....and was eventually refunded after tracking the delivery.
As luck would have it, 3 of my hens had gone broody, 2 had hatched eggs, and I've had to take eggs off the third as she abandoned them after a few days (4 good embryos on my incubator). They're not the 'All Black" team I'd hoped for (one little black Naked Neck crept in there although I thought the hens only had Brahma eggs)....but, at least I've got chicks. If all goes well, I'll end up with some 'orphans' to raise in the kitchen, too.
Maybe next year for the Ayam Cemani?