WHEN do bad eggs start to stink? My "Earl" is on day 33 and even though I think I see faint wiggling... or maybe my imagination? I think the egg is starting to stink. Is a little odor normal or should I float test or something? First timer with emu eggs. Sorry if this has been answered already I came in late.
Edited to say, it is floating! I guess that is a good sign.
ok. first there is no set day when a rotten egg will begin to stink.. I just pulled one that started to stink on day 3.. some bad eggs never stink.. so it just depends on the egg
second.. rotten eggs don't wiggle... so if it wiggles it means it has a live chick.. I think the earliest I have seen an emu egg wiggle was on day 31.. and it was a slight wiggle..usually the closer to hatch it gets the harder it will wiggle .. so at day 33 it's easy to miss the wiggle
a rotten egg will float because of the gas buildup.. so a floating egg only means there is enough of an air pocket in the egg to make it buoyant .. a "high floater" is a bad egg.. a "medium floater" could be a good egg.. or could be infertile.. could also be just a bad egg that doesn't have enough of an air pocket to make it into a "high floater"
eggs that sink are usually infertile or contain a dead chick.. the air cell just isn't large enough to make the egg buoyant.
The float test is usually reserved for eggs that are past their due date:
low and medium floaters are watched to see if the moving chick causes a ripple in the water's surface when the egg is past the due date
eggs that sink or are high floaters are tossed
float testing a good egg can actually kill the chick if the water is too hot.. too cold.. or if the egg has a small pip and water enters the egg causing the chick to drown
fresh eggs will sink.. which is another reason why the float test is best reserved for eggs that have been incubated for the full time
you can also tell how fresh an egg is by float testing.. a very freshly laid egg will lay on the bottom of the container on it's side
as the egg ages (whether having been in the fridge or not) it will begin to stand on end.. the older an egg gets the more it will rise up in the water .. like I said before it depends on the size of the air cell.. larger air cell = more buoyant egg
You waited and spend so much time,worried...Your baby is so cute 
