Sorry to disagree, but the issue isn't one of bacterial growth. You're not storing the egg in a warm-water bath. You're simply washing it. The cold water causes the contents of the egg to retract. Since the egg shell is porous, and the bloom is now removed after washing, the theory is that more external material now is pulled into the egg. Therefore, the recommendation is that the egg be washed in water 102-105 degrees.
I put eggs in my bator straight from the coop but if I do so again, I plan to just leave them on the counter until I have enough for a good clutch. It would simulate them sitting in the nest until the hen decided she had a big enough clutch.
There are quite a few here on the site that do stagger incubations. No reason why you can't do it too.
how to you measure your humidity?We have a staggered hatch going right now. If you aren't used to hatching and dealing with humidity issues, I wouldn't recommend it. Get used to hatching before trying a staggered one. We have held eggs as long as a month just to see if they would hatch. About 40% of the ones over 20 days old hatched. Of the ones that didn't hatch, the majority were tossed by day 10 because they didn't even begin to develop. Beware!!!!! Hatching is ADDICTIVE!!!!!!
