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I had to wipe off the eggs....

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post #1 of 6

4/25/12 at 4:57am

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blueberrychickens

Location: Hudson, MA
Joined: 5/2010
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I picked up 18 eggs for the bator yesterday from a local guy. The eggs were soiled w/ dirt & poo, some were worse than others. I HAD to wipe them off before putting them in the bator. Did I do a bad thing? I decided not to put the worst offenders in.....

Do what you love & love what you do. Simplicity is the essence of happiness.
I have O.C.D...Obsessive Chicken Disorder!!!
My little piece of heaven is in the northeast..me & my DH, 1 DD, 1 DS, & owned by 18 chickens ~ 3 Wellies, 2 BO's, 2 GLW's, 2 EE's, 3 Barnies, 2 FBCM, 1 SS, 2 SF & 1 Aussie! "Member of the Derperella Club-- We're just all goin' round' the rooster, here!"

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post #2 of 6

4/25/12 at 5:27am

A.T. Hagan
Don't Panic

Location: North/Central Florida
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If they were that bad I'd have washed and sanitized them myself.

But I do that with ALL of my hatching eggs anyway.

When you stop to think about it an incubator is a warm, humid environment constantly supplied with oxygen. A great place to incubate bird eggs. Also a great place to incubate microbes as well. Sanitizing the outside of the egg does not so much protect the embryo inside the shell but rather the inside of the incubator the egg is developing in.

Chance favors the prepared mind.

post #3 of 6

4/25/12 at 5:29am

Lollipop

Location: Pike Co., GA & Palm Beach Co., FL
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I agree. Hatcheries wash all their eggs, too.......Pop

In God We Trust

Siyah Rampuri Asil, White Chinese, Emden, and African Geese, Guineas, a Rottweiler (Bella), and a Yellow Lab (Booger). Fifty five years with chickens and still learning.

post #4 of 6

4/25/12 at 6:00am

bairo

Joined: 2/2011
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Yes...There is nothing wrong with the trend to try and stay natural.....but we are already breaking that by using an incubator.

When collecting eggs for the bator I do not wash them right away. I do however wash them in warm water and antimicrobial soap or at least dip them in warm Oxine solution just before I place them in the bator. It is very important to wash them in water warmer than the egg itself because liquid will move across a semipermeable barrier to the warmer side. Basically you don't want the egg to suck in your wash water.

Now on the other end of the spectrum (our eggs are collected often and therefor are not soiled) we use to leave our eating eggs on the counter instead of in the fridge. In those cases we did not wash them so the bloom would protect them. Leaving them on the counter though is much different than the bator for growing bacteria. A bator is so conducive to microbes that if I wanted to build a machine to grow bad bugs....it would be a bator, LOL

post #5 of 6

4/25/12 at 6:14am

Location: South Central MA
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it would be great to hear what some of you other folks have been using to wash your eggs.

i haven't ever washed my eggs--precisely because i don't want to wash away the protective bloom, but i am thinking about doing it

John

The measure of the humanity of a nation is NOT how it treats its animals; the measure of the humanity of a nation is first and foremost how it treats its HUMANS: the weakest, the hurting, and the strong. THAT is the measure of a peoples' humanity!

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John

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post #6 of 6

4/25/12 at 10:49am

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