dirty egg question

[carriehelene]

I got some hatching eggs mailed to me, they all arrived in very good shape. However, 2 of the eggs are very dirty. Not sure if it's dirt or poo. What should I do, clean them, leave them, or toss them?

They are going in an incubator, if that makes any difference to the answer.

 

[FenDruadin]

Were they duck eggs? It's fairly normal for duck eggs to get really dirty. At least, mine do. But chicken eggs should be pretty clean--I would take the issue up with the seller.

As for what to do--I would wash them. They might not make it, but at least you won't contaminate your bator with the dirt, and it won't hurt to find out if they survive. With duck eggs, I wash nearly all of them and they do pretty well. I am just starting (on the current hatch, which is only my second) to keep records of which eggs are washed so I can eventually compare and see if there is a difference in hatchability. But so far, all 13 of mine are developing beautifully at nearly 3 weeks incubation (duck eggs take 4 weeks). Eleven of those 13 were washed (only 2 were not! lol).

Good luck.

 

[Dipsy Doodle Doo]

Hi! How dirty is 'very dirty'? Can you take a pic?

Lisa

 

[carriehelene]

iam, nope not duck eggs lol. I'm not sure I want to know how they got so dirty, my chickens eggs are always very clean, so really have no experience with dirty eggs.

Lisa, I would love to be able to show you pics so you could see them to advise me, but I don't have my camera available unfortunately. Let's see, how dirty? Well, I'd say approximately 40-50% dirty, spread out all over the eggs. So not completely covered, but splotchy on all sides of the eggs. Does that description help?

 

[Lollipop]

Used to be I never washed hatching eggs. I used a light sandpaper to clean off the heavy stuff. Then I read a post that said hatcheries all wash their eggs. Now I wash mine and see no difference in hatchability........Pop

 

[carriehelene]

Well, that's two votes for washing, guess that's what I'll do. Not setting them until tomorrow, my bator's getting geared up tonight. I'll check back before I do. I'll also mark which ones were washed to see if there's any difference. Thanks all.

 

[Rollins2708]

I have washed every egg that I have hatched. I just wiped them with a damp washcloth and dried them off. Last batch hatched 12 out of 15. Don't think it really makes a difference.

 

[Kovalciks Chickens]

they will be fine if u put them in the bator dirty. If you really want to clean them off with a damp almost dry rag don't get it really wet or it covers up the pours in the egg and the baby chicky can't breathe

 

[FenDruadin]

While it may be true that it's best to use a damp rag, I did in fact submerge my eggs to wash them. I put a weak solution of dish detergent in warm water in a bucket. Then I'd submerge each egg very briefly, then rub gently. I'd submerge again, remove, rub, etc. until it was clean. Just a damp rag would not have removed some of the filth that was caked on my eggs.

Like I said, at 3 weeks incubation it's impossible to be sure about hatch rate, but those duckies sure look healthy and busy when I candle--all 13 are growing beautifully.

 

[insiderart]

I would wash them, if it's poo then the incubator will stink.