dirty eggs- should we wash???

[eaglequest]

We bought some from ebay and some of them were rather poopy! I have not hatched any quite this dirty before. Should I wash the few that are really dirty. I was unable to scrape the dry poo off with my fingernail (gross). These were packed super well, way better than the last ebay buys which both had lots broken.

 

[JerseyGiantfolk]

If they are poopy and you put them in there is a chance that they won't hatch. If you can wash them off with a warm washcloth gently.

 

[SierraView]

I disagree. Egg shells are porous and washing them allows bacteria to pass through the shell. I would use sandpaper to clean the shell if it was real bad.

 

[Fred's Hens]

100% of all eggs hatched by the hatcheries, millions and millions of eggs, all get get washed. Every single one. The hatcheries are profitable and their hatch rates are astounding. Just saying.

Washing vs not washing has been completely studied by the industry and there is no great statistical advantage to either method.

 

[yinepu]

100% of all eggs hatched by the hatcheries, millions and millions of eggs, all get get washed. Every single one. The hatcheries are profitable and their hatch rates are astounding. Just saying.

Washing vs not washing has been completely studied by the industry and there is no great statistical advantage to either method.

not true.. we NEVER washed our eggs when I worked for the hatchery

 

[Fred's Hens]

not true.. we NEVER washed our eggs when I worked for the hatchery

You're right. I was not accurate. Eggs are sanitized and fumigated, which is technically, I suppose, not the same as washing.

The USDA requires egg sanitation. See this, if you have an interest:
http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CFR-2001-title9-vol1/pdf/CFR-2001-title9-vol1-sec147-22.pdf

 

[yinepu]

You're right. I was not accurate. Eggs are sanitized and fumigated, which is technically, I suppose, not the same as washing.

The USDA requires egg sanitation. See this, if you have an interest:
http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CFR-2001-title9-vol1/pdf/CFR-2001-title9-vol1-sec147-22.pdf

lol.. we fumigated ours .. they would chase us out of there if we didn't have gas masks on

for ours the eggs would be sorted.. placed in the incubation racks and the foggers would be turned on... only people with masks were permitted to enter the incubator area when fumigation was in process

 

[yinepu]

We bought some from ebay and some of them were rather poopy! I have not hatched any quite this dirty before. Should I wash the few that are really dirty. I was unable to scrape the dry poo off with my fingernail (gross). These were packed super well, way better than the last ebay buys which both had lots broken.

some people here use a bleach solution to wash dirty eggs.. others just dry brush the eggs to remove most of the mess...

i use Oxine on really dirty eggs

 

[leirob007]

I don't know if I'm right or wrong here. BUT when I'm hatching my own eggs I don;t load dirty eggs. but if I'm hatching for someone else and the eggs they give me are dirty I'll first try to buff them off with some scotchbrite.( some sponges you get have scotchbrite on one side which works well )
IF they are too dirty for that I make a Listerine Wash out of the OLD GOLD Listerine. The hatches do not seem to suffer any and the bator smells good.
I also mist the entire inside of the bator with this solution when I set the eggs in it regardless of if any were washed or not.

 

[JerseyGiantfolk]

I was being inaccurate also, I just wash off the eggs anyways because I don't want the chick to have to break through poop or pick at it when they have hatched. I also had issues with a person who gave me 2 clean (with poop smudges) & the rest poopy eggs and none of them hatched. One even exploded under the broody it seemed. But the eggs could have stopped developing, we did candle them and we saw a development, so we let them be, but bad luck.. I wash my eggs with bleach, then vinegar, during selling, but not when hatching, just a warm washcloth.

I would not worm or treat for coccidia when collecting fertile eggs. My rooster who hatched from a egg that was collected during I think worming time, he's bit brain damaged it seems... he talks more than other chickens, and takes time to process that there's food in front of him...