Are cracked eggs bad eggs?

Yesterday my bigger white egg had a crack. I have 5 days left before they hatch. I threw the egg away sinceit had a huge crack (no peeping) and there was a developed chick inside. It looked alive until I broke the egg... now one of my bantam eggs has a crack, and I don't want to make the same mistake. I can't see inside the egg, should I just let it be, then if it doesn't hatch a couple days after 21 days, I'll just throw it away?

If it was me I'd leave it be. There is no harm as far as I know in leaving a recently stopped egg in the bator until you can tell it definately has stopped which may be when it smells rotten and sound full of water if shaken a little.
Are you candling them? Look very closely for the slightest movement in the egg. It may take a little while to move.
How are the shells in general of your eggs, do you get thin ones? Give your hens more access to calcium.
Make sure they haven't been knocked to hard when being turned either.

lynnR said:

If it was me I'd leave it be. There is no harm as far as I know in leaving a recently stopped egg in the bator until you can tell it definately has stopped which may be when it smells rotten and sound full of water if shaken a little.
Are you candling them? Look very closely for the slightest movement in the egg. It may take a little while to move.
How are the shells in general of your eggs, do you get thin ones? Give your hens more access to calcium.
Make sure they haven't been knocked to hard when being turned either.

Click to expand...

Well, they're under my broody. I think the eggs just bump into the other eggs or something... we got the eggs from someone off of craigslist. The white one yesterday, didn't look to be moving. The bantam egg that is cracked is hard to see anything, we don't have a very good flashlight. The other bantam egg is completly fine to look through though... so I don't know.... well I guess I'll just wait and see!

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=440510639312636&set=o.46741527579&type=1&theater

This is a link to a picture on Facebook of a Muscovy egg that got severly damaged near to hatching. The duckling hatched out and is thriving. I was told to never interfere with eggs under a broody unless candling and switching eggs to be set. It could be that the nest is slightly too dished or the hen is a bit rough with turning them or she is heavy andstands on them. If other birds can get into the nest it's a good idea to block off the nest and let the hen out once a day.

Don't throw the eggs away! The baby is still alive more than likely. If they develop a crack somehow, use elmers super glue on them. 2-3 light layers-let dry fully in between applications. It's non-toxic and works fine/perfectly safe to use. You just have to pay attention to how big the area is that you apply the glue. The egg is porous and allows air in. If you cover too much area with glue you could suffocate the baby. The glue trick does work though. I just keep the egg on a heating pad while I repair the damage and let fully dry before returning to nest. When hatching, depending on where the glue is when they start to pip, you may need to assist them if the glued area is in or near the pipped area. You'll just have to watch and see. But seal the egg soon, the longer their is an exposed crack, the more vulnerable it is to getting bacteria inside, even if you can't see any exposed egg coming through. depending on the severity of the crack you may need more than 2-3 layers of glue, just use your best judgement. I typically put enough layers until I can't feel the crack anymore and feel that it is thick enough to withstand the turning without being damaged further. Hope this helps!! Goodluck with your little one.

I used nail polish.

Alright, thanks! I felt so bad throwing the other egg away, when we cracked it, I swear I saw the little guy move. =(... but alright! My momand I will try it! Just hope no others get cracked

Just keep an eye on it and make sure that is has sufficient padding/bedding. You should be good to go. I wouldn't reccomend the nail polish unless it's a hairline crack that is tiny, as the nail polish wouldn't thicken in layers very much like the glue, but if you don't have any elmer's glue, nail polish could be substituted with caution. Hope all goes well!

So, I wanted to check back in and see if your little one made it. He should have just come out right around now if I remember correctly. Hope all is well!