We start by cutting a few
12" strips from a roll of 1/2" thick x 24" wide bubble wrap.
Lay out one piece fo 12" x 24" bubble wrap on your kitchen counter (with
your wife's permission, of course). The "Mr. Coffee" coffee maker,
bread oven and 20 year old toaster are optional. |
We cut a Pheasant/Chukar
egg "flat" in half so that each half holds 25 eggs, 5 rows of 5 eggs.
These are available from Cutler Pheasant Supply, http://www.cutlersupply.com.
The bobwhite egg flats that are available are WAY too small for Coturnix
eggs. |
We fold one 12" wide strip
of bubble wrap over the egg flat |
Then fold the other side
over tightly and tape the bubble wrap so that it holds the eggs in place
tightly and doesn't allow them to move. |
Then pull the ends of the
bubble wrap over the edges of the egg flat and tape the ends tightly to
keep the eggs from shifting around. |
Place two pieces of 12
x 12 bubble wrap in the bottom of the shipping box. This is USPS
box #7 which holds up to three layers (6 dozen) of quail eggs. The box
is 12"x12"x8" |
Place the taped egg flat
"cocoon" in the bottom of the box on top of the bubble wrap placed
there earlier and place another layer or two of bubble wrap over the eggs. |
Layer the packaged egg
flats (up to three) to fill the box. This allows up to 6 dozen quail
eggs to be packed in one box with plenty of bubble wrap layered padding. |
If you have less than three
egg flats to pack in the box use crumpled newspaper, styrofoam peanuts
or other suitable padding material on top of the egg flats. We use
11"x17" pin feed green-bar computer paper which is relatively cheap and
will pack a LOT of eggs. Push some padding material down next to the egg
flats to keep them from sliding around in the box. |
Once you're sure the eggs
are held tightly in the box and won't shift around, tape the box securely
along all open edges to maintain the air insulation inside for the eggs.
The USPS has just made available an electronic Priority Mail Shipping label
printable from their website that provides on-line bar code package tracking
at no charge. This label is shown above. |
This size box (USPS Box
4) holds up to three dozen quail eggs using cut up egg flats which hold
twelve eggs per layer. This #4 and the #7 box pictured above, as well as
the Priority Mail packaging tape are available FREE from the USPS online
at: http://www.usps.gov but they will not do the egg packing for you. |
Here are 11 egg shipments
(both chicken and quail) packed one night and taking up valuable kitchen
floor space, ready to be taken to the Post Office for shipment the next
day. We print the "FRAGILE - FERTILE EGGS - DO NOT IRRADIATE" labels
on an HP color printer. |
Quail
Egg Packaging
