Chicks pooping on hatching eggs

[bobbilyn2000]

This is my first time incubating. I obsessively cleaned the incubator and once the eggs had been rinsed with warm Hydrogen Peroxide, i only handled them with latex gloves. Now 5 babies have hatched with a few pips still to go. I have them on lock down. The babies are all over the incubator, knocking the existing eggs around and getting poop on them. Will bacteria get through the egg shell and kill the chicks that are still hatching? Should I move the babies to the brooder? I've read and heard to leave them alone but never read anything about letting the hatching eggs get dirty on the last couple of days. I really appreciate your help.

thanks!!

 

[lazy gardener]

Poop happens. At this point in the game, bacterial contamination of the shells is a non issue. The only concern I would have is is you put wet paper towels in on the floor of the bator, and the hatched chicks get them mucked up with feces and hatching goo, then a later entrant drags a raw umbilical stump through the bacterial slurry on the paper towel. That's an invitation for peritonitis. I'm starting to wonder if leaving the hdw cloth bare, instead of putting down shelf liner may be better as far as bacterial contamination goes during the hatch. But, think of how chicks hatch under a broody... in a nest that she's been in for at least 21 days. Same bedding. She's walking through the barnyard daily, and she doesn't wash her feet. She uses those dirty feet to turn the eggs!

 

[bobbilyn2000]

Thanks @lazy gardener that's helpful. I thought about what happens under a broody but didn't know for sure. A couple of the babies are pecking at the pips too. I know that's normal behavior for a chicken but it won't hurt the hatching egg, correct?

 

[bobbilyn2000]

And I read about putting something down over the bottom of the incubator but didn't do it, so that should be ok.

 

[jfays]

Poop happens.  At this point in the game, bacterial contamination of the shells is a non issue.  The only concern I would have is is you put wet paper towels in on the floor of the bator, and the hatched chicks get them mucked up with feces and hatching goo, then a later entrant drags a raw umbilical stump through the bacterial slurry on the paper towel.  That's an invitation for peritonitis.  I'm starting to wonder if leaving the hdw cloth bare, instead of putting down shelf liner may be better as far as bacterial contamination goes during the hatch.  But, think of how chicks hatch under a broody... in a nest that she's been in for at least 21 days.  Same bedding.  She's walking through the barnyard daily, and she doesn't wash her feet.  She uses those dirty feet to turn the eggs!

I have five chicks that are also out and jumping around the bator. I'm concerned that they will mess the unhatched eggs up. Will their jumping around and knocking around the other eggs disturb them too much?