Does anyone use egg wash on their hatching eggs?

shelleyd2008

the bird is the word
11 Years
Sep 14, 2008
23,381
203
351
Adair Co., KY
I've read that some embryonic and early chick deaths are due to bacteria and whatnot on the shell of the egg? I've been thinking of getting egg wash to use on the eggs I set in my own incubator.

Please respond with any experiences you have with using egg wash, commercial or homemade
smile.png
 
I don't wash my eggs before incubation, this takes off the bloom (a protective coating). But I don't set dirty eggs either. If there is a small amount of dirt on an egg, I just pick it off. Some people that wash eggs have asked me why their hatch rate is low, I tell them it was because they washed their eggs. Just my .02. We never washed the eggs when we were setting thousands at a time commerically.
 
I dont wash either. But I do clean them=spot clean..If there is a spot where it wont just flick off I take a washcloth theat has a little water on it and spot clean.
 
I have heard of some using Oxine to wash their eggs. But, I have never used it on hatching eggs, I use it for sterilizing feeders, waterers and pens.
 
The last two eggs that went bad on me were also the dirtiest. I tried to get the 'stuff' off without actually washing them with fine emery cloth and spot cleaning like I normally do but that stuff was really stuck this time so I had to leave it. They may have just been bad or infertile anyways. I know some universities and such do wash thier eggs but I don't know what they use. I have read that it is okay to wash the eggs as long as you do not use cold water because cold water will cause the pores of the eggs to contract and draw the bacteria into the egg.
 
I only hatch clean eggs.

However, I will say that last year I had a broody hen that pooped all over her eggs. It was absolutely the smelliest more awful stinky mess you ever saw.

I couldn't leave them that way, so I carefully rinsed them off in clear, warm water, being careful not to hold them under the water, not wanting to drown the babies.

These were fairly expensive eggs that I had sent for.

They all hatched.

Catherine
 
Thanks for the replies. I'm not talking about literally washing the eggs, there is a solution that you can get to dip the eggs in that kills any bacteria on the eggs. I'm just wondering if it would help. I do get a lot of late embryo, and some early chick deaths, so that's why I'm asking. Just wondering if the egg wash (if you'd google it, you would see it is not meant to scrub the egg) would help.

ETA: This would be done on visibly clean eggs, not eggs dug out of the muck
smile.png
 
Last edited:
I'd like to know if it works as well. I have never tried any egg washes but if it worked, I would love to try it. I hate setting dirty eggs in my incubator and I will wash mine if they are dirty with just water. I believe the "bloom" theory to be ...well crap since I have had too many eggs that I have washed hatch. Still I would love to have a wash that killed the bacteria.
 

New posts New threads Active threads

Back
Top Bottom