Darn it! Broody pooped on eggs! Chances of eggs hatching? :/

[Wolf-Kim]

I have 4 peafowl eggs entering their 3rd week of incubation and I have tried my best to leave the broody alone. I placed a duck egg under her today out of desperation(my rouen drake died today and my homemade incubator is not set up for waterfowl.. desperate attempt to hatch a replacement drake). I noticed that she had pooped in her nest..

I won't be removing the eggs, but just curious as to what the chance of them hatching is.. Anybody hatch dirty eggs?

I didn't dare clean the eggs, rather candled them and placed them back under her and say a little prayer.

Oi, it's been a rough day! I was in the barn not 5 minutes and about lost my mind. Found my only rouen drake dead, he knocked a metal shelf over on top of him in the barn.. Freak accident, but still very aggravating. And then in a desperate attempt to place any possible rouen eggs under a broody I found my four gift peafowl eggs covered in broody poo. *sigh* Just one of those days I guess.

-Kim

 

[The Wolf Queen]

I had a rotten egg bust this year and I rubbed all of the others with warm water twice then left them. ALL of those eggs are now almost 2 month old banty chicks

 

[Haley_LinckHillPoultry]

I don't usually clean my eggs when they go in the bator, they're usually clean. Have some dirtyish ones, but they end up hatching too.

 

[jjrabbit2]

My Broody did it too! My chicks hatched last Thursday and are all fine I say a prayer for ours too! I just cleaned out the poop and wiped off the eggs with dry paper towel. Good luck!

 

[dancingbear]

I'd wash them with warm water and put them back, after cleaning the nest. The risk of losing them to bacterial contamination from poop, is much higher than anything that might happen from washing them. Any protective "bloom" is long since rubbed off on the hen anyway.

My hens have hatched a lot of eggs that got washed during incubation.

BTW, your ducks will still have fertile eggs for awhile, you could collect eggs for several days (with chickens it's about 3 weeks, not sure how long ducks remain fertile) and incubate them, maybe get a 'bator, if you don't have another broody by then. There's no reason that this one egg should be your only chance to hatch a replacement. Nor do eggs have to be set the same day. You can hold them up to 10 days. Surely don't think your hen will hatch the peas, then stay on the nest until this duck hatches, do you? I'd take the duck egg back out, gather more over the next ten days, and meanwhile get an incubator.

 

[Wolf-Kim]

I'll collect any rouen eggs over the next few days and save them up.

I have an incubator, a very large one, but I have quail and chicken eggs in it and it's not set for waterfowl. I have heard broodies will remain broody as long as you don't leave chicks with them. If the duck eggs develop then I'll let her remain on them and if not, then I'll boot her out of the nest.

Any hatched peafowl won't remain with her, they'll be removed shortly after hatching. I've been advised the peachicks do better on wire than on the ground with the hen.

I'll take some warm water to them and hope for the best. Silly hen, she did so well the first couple of weeks and I was so hopeful. Figures something would nip me in the behind.

-Kim

 

[dancingbear]

Quote:
I had a similar dilemma, a broody quit on my turkey eggs, when my 'bator was full. It all worked out, though.

Some broodies will stay broody if you take the chicks, and some will quit. Good luck, I hope it all works out ok!