Cleaning eggs

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strictlychicken270

strictlychicken270

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I have started saving my eggs to start the incubation process. I was wondering is it okay to wash the eggs as I get them or before put them in the incubator, will this mess them up or hurt anything...First timer...
 
Im a newbie as well! Currently on my third batch in the incubator! I asked the same thing and it was very mixed and about 50 percent said yes and 50 percent said no. I have two friends that raise chickens, peacocks, guineas, ducks, etc for as a personal business. One friend washes every egg that goes into her incubator. The other washes only the dirtiest ones. For all three of my batches if they were spotless I just rinsed really fast under cold water, if they had any sign of anything on them I gently scrubbed with a tooth brush under cold water. So far I have had marvelous hatches! My hens even hatched a ton out for me and of course they do not wash their eggs so left be. Both me and my hens had awesome hatch rates. The only eggs that did not hatch never started to develope. None died halfway through or anything. So like I said im not an expert by any means but this is my experience so far. Good luck!
 
ldrchickens said:
Im a newbie as well! Currently on my third batch in the incubator! I asked the same thing and it was very mixed and about 50 percent said yes and 50 percent said no. I have two friends that raise chickens, peacocks, guineas, ducks, etc for as a personal business. One friend washes every egg that goes into her incubator. The other washes only the dirtiest ones. For all three of my batches if they were spotless I just rinsed really fast under cold water, if they had any sign of anything on them I gently scrubbed with a tooth brush under cold water. So far I have had marvelous hatches! My hens even hatched a ton out for me and of course they do not wash their eggs so left be. Both me and my hens had awesome hatch rates. The only eggs that did not hatch never started to develope. None died halfway through or anything. So like I said im not an expert by any means but this is my experience so far. Good luck!
Click to expand...
Ok thank you so much for the advice..
 
Texas Kiki said:
I don't wash any eggs before I incubate them.
Click to expand...
What if their extremely dirty.. I went off yesterday closing my coop door and my chickens couldn't get into their laying boxes so whenever i went out to feed I had 6 good eggs inside the pin but their really muddy and pooped on. Hate not to use them or mess them up.
 
Hi, welcome to the forum. Glad you joined.

I would not wash them but only set fairly clean eggs. One of the last thing a hen does when she lays an egg is to put a liquid layer on it that we call bloom. That's why an egg looks wet when it is first laid, it is. But that bloom quickly dries and creates a layer that helps keep bacteria from easily going through the porous egg shell. That bloom is so effective that a hen can lay an egg in a hidden nest, lay other eggs for two weeks, then incubate them for three weeks without bacteria getting inside to spoil them.

If you wash the eggs, scrape them with something abrasive to remove dirt like sandpaper, or even rub them kind of hard with your fingertips or thumb to remove dirt you remove that bloom and make it easier for bacteria to get inside. If dirt or poop is clumped on the egg or much worse, the egg has dried liquid egg on it that allows bacteria a way through the bloom, so don't set any eggs that are pretty dirty.

Also, when handling the eggs keep your hands clean. Wash and dry your hands before handling the eggs so you don't introduce bacteria to the egg shells. And keep your incubator clean.

Does this man that every egg you wash or scrape dirt off off will go bad? No, life doesn't work that way. Keeping the bloom intact and only setting fairly clean eggs simply improves your odds of not getting bacteria inside. If bacteria gets inside the egg material is a perfect food, egg is so good that laboratories use egg to culture bacteria. Incubation temperature is the perfect temperature for rapid bacteria growth. If you have ever smelled a rotten egg you know you don't want that in your incubator or under a broody hen.
 
strictlychicken270 said:
What if their extremely dirty.. I went off yesterday closing my coop door and my chickens couldn't get into their laying boxes so whenever i went out to feed I had 6 good eggs inside the pin but their really muddy and pooped on. Hate not to use them or mess them up.
Click to expand...
It's up to you but I wouldn't set them. Wash and eat them and wait for tomorrow's eggs.

Why don't you do an experiment.
Wash half.
Set them all and see what happens.
:pop
 

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