I haven't been able to keep up with all of the posts, so forgive me if this has already been asked. My eggs went into the incubator on the night of the 29th. At what point would you cull "bad" eggs? I have 4 positively clear eggs and about 5 more questionable ones. The 5 questionable are really dark from a Welsummer, and they are so dark that I can't even see the air pocket at the end. I *really* want those to hatch but I suspect they are not fertile because the hen had a leg injury throughout most of the winter and the rooster does not give her much attention as a result. So the odds are against them, even though I am hopeful.
Should I just give up on them at this point? Or how long do you wait to make sure? As for the other 4 eggs they are lighter brown varieties and they are very clear with no veining and only one of them has what looks like a possible dark mass in it. I marked them when I candled a few days ago and checked again last night and they look the same so I think they are duds.
So here is a silly question......what do you do with eggs that you are removing from the incubator? It seems wrong to toss them in the trash, but I don't know what else I would do. Should I crack them to see out of curiosity? I have this horrible fear that I would be wrong though and by cracking I would see that I killed a chick. Or would it be stinky and/or bacteria ridden if I crack them to see?