Should I clean off dirty eggs before I start incubating?

[jvls1942]

I watched a documentary about a large commercial chick hatchery..
forgot what the name of it was, but it is a well known hatchery,,

they showed a man with a large wire basket foll of hatching eggs, and he cleaned them and finally dunked them into an antibacterial solution..

we have always cleaned our eggs with warm water if they are soiled..
I am not into incubating chicken poop or any microorganisms which may be on them,,

However, if a chicken or duck or goose has a nest outside, I leave those eggs alone..

............jiminwisc...........

 

[song of joy]

I haven't read through this whole thread yet, but here's what I've done to date.

I received 5 barnyard mix eggs from a neighbor. They were visibly dirty (mud/poo) as it had been very rainy and messy outside. I sanitized them by submerging them for 1 minute in Brinsea's sanitizing solution, and letting them dry on a towel. 4 of 5 hatched in the incubator (80% hatch rate).

I received 9 barnyard mix eggs from a neighbor. They were not visibly dirty, but I wanted to reduce the risk of introducing diseases into my flock, as these eggs were destined for my broody hen. I sanitized all of the eggs by submerging them for 1 minute in Brinsea's sanitizing solution. 6 of the 9 eggs were fertile, based on day 10 candling results. (The other 3 eggs were infertile, completely clear, with no signs of development, based on eggtopsy results). My broody hen hatched out all 6 of the fertile eggs (100% hatch rate).

Note that none of the eggs were washed or rubbed. They were submerged in solution, and then allowed to dry on a clean towel. This was certainly not a controlled experiment, and it involved VERY small sample sizes, but my impression is that sanitizing eggs may increase hatch rates by reducing the risk of bacterial contamination and "early quitters" (embryonic death in the first week of incubation). At a minimum, I've concluded it will not negatively affect hatch rates or hurt the developing embryos.

 

[jvls1942]

just the fact that there is a sanitizing agent put out by an incubator manufacturer must mean that it is OK to sanitize ..

there are other companies that put out sanitizers, also..

 

[otakalhasas]

Hi folks!

Okay, I know this is an old thread, but I'm just getting ready to incubate my first eggs and I have a question.

It has been major muddy here the past two days and today's collection gave me three out of six eggs that are dirty. I will not be putting them in the incubator for another 5 days. So do I clean them now (I do want to clean them) or do I wait until just before I put them in the incubator?

THANKS!

 

[jvls1942]

Hi folks!

Okay, I know this is an old thread, but I'm just getting ready to incubate my first eggs and I have a question.

It has been major muddy here the past two days and today's collection gave me three out of six eggs that are dirty. I will not be putting them in the incubator for another 5 days. So do I clean them now (I do want to clean them) or do I wait until just before I put them in the incubator?

THANKS!

go ahead and clean them now. In a few days the dirt will be dried like concrete and then it will be more difficult .

We wash our eggs under a running faucet..
less chance of contamination than if we would use a pan of water..

You will undoubtedly hear from someone concerning "bluhm" "bloom" .. don't worry about it.
your eggs won't be lying in a dirty nest in a coop,
they will be in a nice clean incubator ..

I hatch in excess of 12oo eggs at a time.. I have never had a bacteria problem..

.........jiminwisc.........

 

[otakalhasas]

Thanks so much! I'm so excited, this is my first hatch!!!!!

 

[caesargirl]

Interesting thread... Enjoy the debate! I don't clean my duck eggs. I may scrape something off with my thumbnail, but that's it. Clean, dry nest material for nests. The eggs in my bator are how I collect them.... I've go 7 in the bator that are on day 5 and 9 more on day 1. Some are spotless some, not so much... We'll see how it goes. Nothing like starting off hatching season with a staggered hatch! Good luck to everyone this season. Excited to see our stats...

(no duckling icon!)

 

[jvls1942]

Thanks so much! I'm so excited, this is my first hatch!!!!!

good luck on the hatch,

what kind of incubator are you using ?

If you have any questions, or want some pre setting tips, just ask. or PM me ..
I have been at this game for over 40 years..

.......jiminwisc.........

 

[alaskakerri]

Hi There, Have you ever hatched Sebastapol Geese? We had a few mailed to us, and one is very muddy, not poopy. Do we wash them? We are concerned that if we contaminate the egg-the hatching will be dismal. Thanks in advance!! We also read that Sebastapols use less humidity. We also contacted Pete55-

 

[misschickchick]

When chickens hatch their own eggs there has to be bacteria present as the chicken is tracking it in and still they hatch. It seems like people are obsessing on cleaning them. In nature nothing is steril I would think simply rinsing with warm water would be sufficient.