Egg exploded in nest

[Auma]

I had an egg explode in the nest, by the time I found out the other chickens must have ate the rements of the egg, I only found bits of shell dried onto the other eggs. Do I need to wash the remaining eggs off (the gunk is dried on them) or does that remove the bloom leaving the eggs more susceptible to bacteria? And if I should wash them and my hen what do I use to clean them? I cleaned the box and put fresh straw down and my hen jumped right back on her nest and doesn't want to move. I also candled the remaining eggs and they all appear to be alive still and we're at day 13.

 

[Lady of McCamley]

Okay. I've had this happen, and it's NOT the end of the world.

Sounds like you've done well to get the nest clean. Personally, I wouldn't wash the rest of the eggs. It does add some bacteria, but in a nest there's bacteria already. My experience is that the eggs are more resilient than you'd think.

I would NOT try washing the eggs. You'll disturb the chicks too much and probably push the bacteria further into the egg than just leaving it alone protected by the bloom.

So the best you can hope for is to tidy the nest and in a worse case scenario dab off a horribly soiled egg with a damp paper towel. But generally, just leave it alone. Let the hen do her job.

It does speak to the practice of candling the eggs and removing all clears or early deaths to prevent egg breakage of bad eggs, especially in hot summer days.

Good luck with the hatch. Chances are it will do little to reduce the hatchability or survivability of the chicks. That's my personal experience.

LofMc

 

[Auma]

I appreciate the feedback, I decided to leave the eggs as is and see what happens. I got the nest fully cleaned out and I'm hoping for the best. This is the first time I've had a broody hen and I'm new to candleing, I'd checked the eggs a few times and all looked good. The one that had exploded has a dark brown shell and happened to be as big as a duck egg so I'm guessing it was a double yolker, but I had some trouble seeing that one clearly. If I go this route again I think I'll exclude any giant eggs, but I'll still have to see how this hatch goes