Quote:
Originally Posted by
marathonmultiplesmom 
Well, I've really learned a lot on this thread even though I don't talk as much as everyone else... so thanks!
Unfortunately my first egg due is starting to smell rotten. Boo Hoo! It is day 40 ish... too tired to reach calender.... but I still have 2 more chances.
Would you try and blow the egg as soon as you start to smell this yuck? 
I do.. you can clean them rather well (even with a small pin hole like I put into the shell to blow them out.. link in my signature).
Just because the emu egg is bad the shell still has plenty of uses for carving or decorative "jewelry box" type of containers or just for display.
but if there's a dead chick in the shell you would have to make a judgement call to see if you want to deal with removal of the chick and attempting to save the shell.
when the egg JUST starts to stink you might have a little bit of a pressure buildup inside the egg.. I like to catch them before they are close to exploding.. when I drill the teeny hole the ones with pressure buildup will hiss at me when the gasses escape. If you wait too long to attempt to drill it could very well go from just a hiss of escaping gasses to a blowout.. which wouldn't be any fun if you're the one who is doing the drilling!
just remember to wash with a detergent and rinse.. rinse.. rinse.. and then sniff the egg.. if there is an odor use something non acidic (I like Oxine) to help with odor removal and further disinfecting
things like vinegar or lemon juice will eat away at the shell.. so I avoid those for cleaning